Easier To Be
by kool-aidrocks2008
Summary: After the scythe spell, something went wrong. Now Faith has to find her way in the world without her Slayer powers and any real friends. The friends thing isn't so bad, especially when she has Amanda, Cordelia, and Andrew there to teach her how to be a friend. But being a slayer is all she's ever been good at; what more was there for her? Future femslash!
1. Chapter 1

Faith Lehane felt weird. Something about her wasn't right but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. She had been feeling this way for a little over a week. Since the fall of sunnydale. At first she had chalked it up as post battle fatigue but now...now she was starting to worry. She noticed all the other slayers running around the Hyperion buzzing with unused and untamed energy. Yet she still feels as if she's about to fall apart from herself. Right now she's staring down at all those younger slayers. Or slayer juniors as she calls them.

"You feeling any better Faith?" Kennedy questions. Something about the young slayer had always caught Faith's attention. Maybe it was the fact if you look close enough, the younger girl reminded Faith of herself in a way. Or maybe it was the way the young slayer didn't fall over for Buffy Summers like everyone else, including herself, did and still does. She just shakes her head.

"Not really." she replies with a sigh. Kennedy's eyebrows furrow in worry.

"Maybe you should get checked out." she offers. Faith shakes her head turning to offer a small smile to the girl.

"Don't worry bout me Junior." she says. "Anyway, I got a meeting to get too." she says referring to the meeting she was called to that Buffy was holding for her team. She makes her way down the stairs gingerly, her muscles in her legs sore beyond belief but she has a high tolerance for pain. After all, every slayer does. _I'm probably just outta practice. _She thinks to herself. She makes her way into the conference room and sits down beside Xander. Without sparing him a glance, she announces her arrival. "Can we speed this up? Me and Fang got plans." Buffy just rolls her eyes and nods.

"Alright, I was thinking we should all decide what were gonna do now." she starts.

"Buffy if I may make a suggestion?" Giles interrupts before Buffy can continue. She nods at her ex watcher. "Perhaps we could open a...a training facility for the young girls. After we have gotten it up and running, meeting state criteria, we should start to travel to find these young girls." he suggests.

"Then what?" Faith asks.

"Then we train them on how to use their powers properly." he says turning to face her.

"What about the ones who aren't gonna wanna come with ya?" Faith questions next.

"Well then we'll have to try and convince them that it is the right choice. They shouldn't go through their lives with their powers untamed." Willow answers this time.

"I don't think they should have to go through life with em at all." Faith mutters.

"They really don't have a choice." Buffy says.

"They could tell you to fuck off. Which I'm almost sure is gonna happen with a hell of a lot of em." Faith responds leaning forward.

"We're what these girls need. We can train them on how to use their powers properly." Buffy tries to reason.

"What these kids are gonna need is to know that they're not some kinda freak. That they can still keep going on with their lives." Cordelia pipes up surprising everyone in the room. Faith hadn't even noticed Angel's team in the room.

"Cordelia does have a point on that." Xander speaks for the first time. "I mean, come on Buff, they're gonna be scared and confused and stuff and we don't know them...their families do." he tries. Buffy nods.

"But we can't just leave them out there either Xander." Buffy says sitting down heavily.

"We shouldn't havin this conversation." Faith mutters.

"Huh?" Buffy questions not really understanding what Faith was saying.

"We shouldn't even be talkin bout this. We shoulda thought about what it'd mean a little more before we did that damn spell." she says a little annoyed.

"Wait a second..." Fred speaks up running from the room quickly. The entire room exchanges confused glances and shrugs. Faith groans before exiting the room herself directly to the bathroom to empty the recent contents of her stomach. Wesley and Angel exchange even more confused and slightly worried glances at her departure.

"Gosh she's been sick lately." willow says. "If I didn't know any better I'd swear she was pregnant." she jokes. The room falls silent.

"You don't think?..." Robin Wood trails off. The entire room is enveloped in silence.

"No she's not pregnant." Fred says reentering with her nose firmly buried in a large book.

"So you think you know what's wrong with her?" Angel asks. Fred nods.

"Yeah. That spell didn't pass on the power of the slayer, it took the power of The Slayer and gave it to the girls." she says.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Cordelia questions. Fred shakes her head.

"No if it just passed on the power, it'd be like when Buffy died for a second and Kendra was called." Fred says.

"You know a lot abo-" Buffy is cut off by Angel.

"I told her." he says.

"Alright but.?" Cordelia again questions.

"But it TOOK The Slayer's powers." she emphasizes the took.

"But Buffy's fine." Willow says confused. Fred looks down biting her lip and it dawns on Angel first.

"Oh..." he trails off.

"What?" willow questions still confused.

"Buffy isn't The Slayer." Angel starts. "Faith is. Buffy died...twice actually. Faith hasn't died yet." he explains.

"Oh..." is heard around.

"Yeah." he whispers.

"But..but this is good right? I mean now she can't ever hurt anybody. I mean she can but it wont be the same. She's not a slayer anymore so she can't use her slayer strength and stuff to hurt us. So..so this is good." Willow reasons. Angel clinches his jaw.

"Faith hasn't been that way for a long time. She's not evil anymore." he grounds up.

"But this is like reassurance." Willow tries again.

"Would you say the same thing if your powers were taken away Red?" they hear whispered from the door way. "Would you feel like its reassurance you couldn't kill? Or hurt anybody?" Faith asks in a quiet, confused voice. "Cus it aint how I feel." she adds.

"B-but I- i" Faith cuts willow off.

"Don't. You were just as bad as I was at a time. What's to say you wont do it again?" she asks. "I mean nothin's set in stone so I guess you're right in a way. This way...this way you know I'm not gonna hurt nobody again." she finishes, voice cracking a little.

"Faith..." Angel starts.

"Its fine Angel." she says. "I'm gonna go for a walk or somethin." she says quickly making her way out of the room. Angel watches helplessly, not knowing how to help or comfort his friend. Nobody moves from their spot, they just sit and think.

"So what do we do about Faith?" Xander asks what everybody is thinking.

"She's not a child Xander, she can make her own decisions." Cordelia snaps.

"And last time we left her to do that you see how well that turned out." Buffy snaps at her.

"Well if we hadn't you know...left her? She woulda made better ones." Cordelia retorts sharply.

"So now her being evil a-and stabby is our fault?!" Willow shrieks.

"If the shoe fits, we should get our credit cards ready." Cordy responds coolly. "I'm ready to admit I played a small part in her loosing her already fragile mind back then." she adds getting up to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Angel questions.

"To help the helpless." she calls over her shoulder. Angel and Wesley smile slightly at this but their faces turn serious once more.

"She's right." Angel says.

Faith rushed pass all the younger slayers pushing her way past them all roughly yet barely moving them.

"Whoa, slow down." Amanda, one of the new slayers says grabbing Faith's arm lightly. "Tryina run us all down?" she questions with a laugh in her voice. Faith jerks her arm away roughly and shoves past the young girl. She makes her way onto the street before breaking out into a full run. Even without slayer speed, she runs fast. _Thank god for middle school and beginning of high school track team. _She thinks wryly. She finally stops some time later at a beach. She staggers tiredly to a deserted spot sitting down heavily. There, she lets silent tears fall.

"Damn original slayer." she hears someone wheezing. "I'm not cut out for hanging around you." the young slayer from earlier wheezes again collapsing beside Faith.

"What do you want?" Faith questions wiping her tears quickly. If Amanda noticed them she doesn't let on.

"To know why you ran away like you'd been burned." Amanda says getting her breathing under control. Faith shrugs.

"Needed to get away." she says quietly. They sit in silence, staring out over the ocean for sometime before Amanda speaks up again.

"How do you do it?" she asks. Faith, slightly startled by the sudden question, turns to the younger girl with furrowed brows.

"Do what?" she responds with a question of her own. Amanda turns to her, brown eyes looking as confused as Faith herself felt.

"Be a slayer." Amanda responds barely above a whisper. Faith turns back to the water to stare out.

"It's all I can do. I don't have anything else. But now..." Faith pauses to lick her lips quickly before taking a deep breath. "I messed it up at first. Back when I first got to Sunnydale. After I beat Kakistos, I started to realize just how much power I had. And it fucked me up." she says with a sad chuckle. "But I've been tryina get better so I can do it right. Like I said, it's all I have. I didn't finish school, I don't have any family that can help me. All I've ever been decent at is being a slayer. But I can't do that any more. But to answer your question about how I did it? I couldn't do anything else. I can't." she explains. "That make sense?" she asks. Amanda shrugs.

"All except for the part about how you DID it. You're still doin it." she replies. Faith shakes her head.

"Not anymore. I'm powerless. The big bad wolf finally huffed so much my lungs fell out." she responds with a bit of dry humor if it can be called that.

"Huh?" the baby slayer questions.

"I'm out.... I don't have my slayer powers anymore. Call the presses! The world is safe from big bad Faith!" Faith yells jumping up. Her jaw clinches and her arms wave. "Finally people can sleep at night knowin that I'm not out torturing watchers, strangling people, and holding knives to innocent people! All those poor people I hurt for no reason can finally move on." she says trailing off with watery eyes.

"Faith?" the younger slayer tries but Faith doesn't see her anymore. All she sees is everyone she hurt. She sees the fear while she was hurting them. She sees the professor begging her not to stab him. She sees Willow hiding the fear when she holds the knife to her throat. She sees it all. Then she sees herself. In all those positions, begging not to be hurt. She can't make out who has her in those positions but she sees herself sobbing, cowering, afraid. No power to do anything.

"And now I'm getting what I deserve." she whispers.

"No, you're lucky is what you are." Amanda says. "Now you can be normal." she adds.

"Being normal and being powerless aint the same thing kid. You're the lucky one." Faith retorts softly. "Now they can hurt me again and I can't stop them." she says pitifully. Amanda just stares at her, not sure what to say. She can hear someone approach from the distance and whips her head around only to see a tall brunette approaching.

"You are in trouble!" the brunette shrieks at her. Amanda looks confused not really knowing who she was but recognizing her at the same time.

"Huh?" she questions.

"You're not supposed to leave without telling someone you're leaving!" a name matches the face now.

"Sorry Cordelia. I was worried about Faith." Amanda replies to the obviously annoyed brunette.

"And you!" Cordelia starts to turn her wrath on Faith who just stares ahead blankly. She stops before allowing the words to come out and kneels in front of the ex-slayer. "Faith?" she tries only to have Faith blink at her. "Come on. Lets get you back to the hotel." she says reaching out to grab Faith's arm. Faith jerks away, scrambling in the sand. "I was just gonna help you up. Jeez, paranoid much?" she questions.

"You have no idea." Amanda mutters.

"I'm not goin back to the hotel." Faith finally says.

"Why not?" Cordelia asks her. She's a little confused by Faith's behavior but does genuinely want to understand what the girl is feeling so she can help her.

"Because you guys are gonna do to me what I did to you." Faith whispers. Cordelia sits back surprised at this and slightly offended.

"God Faith. Not everybody is a psychopath like you are. Or as Angel insists, used to be. Why would you think that anyway?" She questions not bothering to hide the offense she's taken to that statement.

"Cus I deserve it..." Faith whispers after what Cordelia thinks is forever.


	2. Chapter 2

_Cus I deserve it' _were the words that kept resounding in Cordelia Chase's mind. She couldn't really believe that Faith had said that earlier that day. What was even more surprising was the sureness in her voice.

"You didn't hear her Angel. She believes that she does deserve it." Cordelia tells Angel. The vampire sighs and closes his eyes momentarily.

"Cordelia, she's just confused right now." he tries. Cordelia scoffs.

"She's not confused shes....." Cordelia trails off not sure exactly what to day about the former dark slayer. "She doesn't." she whispers finally.

"Huh?" The vampire questions her a little confused. He was starting to think she had dropped the subject.

"She doesn't deserve that. What.... do you really believe she's changed?" she questions him.

"Without a doubt." he responds with no hesitation. Cordelia nods.

"Then don't you think we should keep an eye on her? I mean, you said yourself she's the little sister you never got to see grow up so we should watch her...make sure she's alright." she reasons with him. He nods but then shrugs.

"I don't think that's a good idea Cordelia. She needs her space to deal with this her way. Sure, we can let her know we're here for her but if we push, we'll only push her away." he tells her.

"And if we don't she might retreat into herself." she shoots back.

"You don't know her that well Cordy. She's not the most open person. You can push a little but if she feels crowded she'll get defensive." he retorts to the younger woman who seems to be growing more annoyed by the moment.

"Angel sometimes you have to push people. No matter how much they hate it." she tells him firmly. "We really can't leave her on her own right now." she adds.

"Is this about helping her or is this because you don't trust her?" Angel asks getting annoyed himself. Cordelia sighs heavily.

"This isn't about that although I don't trust her. I probably never will but that's not the point. I help the helpless and rig-" she's cut off by a growling voice from the doorway.

"I'm not fucking helpless!" Faith exclaims. Cordelia whips around, going into defense mode before trying to relax her posture. "I can handle myself." Faith tries a little more calmly.

"Faith we-" she cuts Angel off not really in the mood to hear what he's trying to say.

"Shut up Angel. I wanna ask everybody in this room a question." she states slowly referring to the others in the room that had been completely forgotten. The Scooby Gang as well as The Fang gang listen intently to what she's about to ask. "Why is it that you can forgive anybody else except me? I mean... I don't expect it overnight but I.... why don't you even acknowledge that I changed? You guys all act like its too impossible to grasp. Well almost all of you, Fred, Lorne, Gunn, you guys' have been great but the rest of you...except Angel." she questions. No one speaks for a moment and she grows annoyed. "What? Got nothin to say?" she questions in an annoyed tone.

"Y-you can't just expect us t-to be all happy like with you around." Willow starts. She stops to wet her lips. "But you are right a-and I'm sorry. I understand what it's like a-and I haven't been exactly welcoming and I'm sorry about earlier." she apologizes sincerely to the younger girl. Faith sighs and nods.

"Don't sweat it Red. I get it. In a way I just... why the fuck are you guys havin a meetin about me without me?" she asks the real question that's bothering her finally. Everyone exchanges glances and shrugs. She rolls her eyes. "Whatever." she says turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Cordelia is the first to question.

"Don't ask questions when you don't really care about the answer." Faith replies before laving the room. Cordelia stands up to follow her but stops herself.

"You guys do realize she's right." Willow speaks up defending Faith.

"What?" Buffy questions her best friend.

"I-its like we can forgive any and everything except Faith. She made a mistake and she's trying to move on. She deserves a second chance." Willow responds. Angel's surprised but grateful eyes land on her.

"Are you seriously on the lets love Faith train?" Buffy questions incredulously. "After... she hurt us Wills. I'm not saying that she's not changed...good for her but I can't... I..." Willow cuts her off.

"You can't what Buffy? Forgive her? She said so herself she doesn't expect it overnight. Hell she probably doesn't expect it from us at all but her question deserves an answer. Why can we forgive Angel...how can you guys forgive me? Even Spike but Faith is a no go?" the red headed witch questions slightly perturbed by her friends and herself.

"Because..." Cordelia trails off lamely.

"Because we want to hate her. She gave us an excuse and we're using it. She doesn't need that. E-especially not now. She's sorry...she's trying but it's hard to...to move on with your life after you've been in that place. Its hard to come out but she did and..." Willow trails off in frustration not exactly sure how to react to her friends. They all sit there, all lost in their own thoughts. No one is sure exactly how to reach the younger girl. No one except for a certain brunette vampire of course. He was just afraid that he it was the wrong way.

--

Faith stalked through the lobby of The Hyperion Hotel with one focus in mind. Going out to slay. The fact that she was no longer a slayer wasn't going to stop her. In fact, it made her want to slay just that much more. _Slayer or not, I can take down some vamps. _She thinks to herself. She exits the hotel glancing up at the slowly darkening sky. She takes a deep breath and sets off in a random direction. She comes to a stop in front of a bar and decides to enter. Putting her hand on the door ready to push, she pauses. She reconsiders and continues on her way toward what she hopes is a cemetery. She pushes on the gates but can't get the lock to break. Growling in frustration, she scans the local street looking for any sign of police or security guards. Spotting none, she hops up a little and starts to climb the gate. _Who woulda thunk all that trouble'd come in handy? _She thinks to herself with a small smirk. She walks in calmly and confidently. She stops in front of a large broken tree limb. She closes her eyes tightly before reaching down and trying and trying to snap it. She pulls but nothing. She grunts and lets go for a moment before letting it go and staring at her hand. Her palms are red and the indents around her hand indicate where she was pulling on the limb. She clinches her jaw trying to fight tears. She didn't cry. Crying was for the weak and she refused to be weak. A week ago she could've snapped that limb in half easily but now...now it was mocking her. It felt like everything was mocking her. She growls at the offending large amount of wood before yanking it up trying to break it over her knee. The force caused her to gasps and drop the large piece of wood to place a hand on her now throbbing leg. It hurt something fierce and she acknowledged that. She also acknowledged the fact that the pain distracted her from a greater pain. The emotional pain she felt. The feeling of worthlessness that washed over her when she realized she no longer had her powers. She glanced at the wood before lifting it again before doing the same thing again. The pain was intense because this time a jagged piece of wood collided with her leg but didn't break sin. If anything it probably just scratched a little surface skin. She closed her eyes with a new task in mind. Finding a vampire and fighting it. She took a deep breath and set out in a random direction.

--

Panicking. Panicking was happening right now. Angel felt like a mother hen pacing back and forth but he couldn't help himself. No one had seen Faith in the past few hours and his worry meter was about to break. Now was not the time for her to be wanting a good slay and he was afraid that's exactly what happened. So why wasn't he out looking for her right now? That answer was simple. Everyone agreed that he would not be very helpful if he beat the snot out of every vampire and demon who said they didn't know where Faith was. Even if they were telling the truth, you never tell someone whose worried you don't know. Its just not done. He stands in front of the large window in his office and clinches is fists tightly. _I should have listened to Cordelia. _He thinks. Even though she hadn't said anything the look Cordelia had given him before leaving said it all. _'Guess you shoulda listened'_ it said. And now he agrees. His attention snaps to his office door when it crashes against the wall. Fred's tired face appears and he immediately worries more.

"Faith...." she pants out. "We found her." she pants out.

"Where is she?" he asks. Controlled like always.

"Upstairs in her room getting patched up." she says. His brows furrow, brown eyes showing a deep concern.

"Patched up?" he's confused. Yes, confused is the right word for him right now. Throw in a little bit of anger and frustration and you've got your very own broody Angel.

"She was uh... we found her fighting a group of vamps. Although I'm not really sure you could classify provoking them as fighting. She barely e-even through any punches. I-it was almost as if...." she trails off.

"What Fred? What is it?" he questions not exactly sure he wants the answer.

"As if that's what she wanted." Fred finishes quietly.

"Huh?" he couldn't have heard her right.

"I think... I think she wanted those vampires to...to attack her." Fred repeats softly. Angel shakes his head.

"No... she's just off. And she shouldn't have been out there but... she wouldn't..." he shakes his head rushing from the room up the stairs. He doesn't have to be told where she is he just follows the scent of her blood. Her blood. The thought of what he's smelling makes him sick to his stomach. He bursts into her door to find Willow and a younger slayer wrapping her mid section and he can't help but noticing the small cuts and bruises forming on her face.

"I-i did a healing spell for her. She'll be fine with some sleep a-and a little TLC which Fred and Amanda here volunteered." Willow says to him with a slight smile. Angel doesn't even try to return it. He just moves over to the side of Faith's bed and leans down to brush some hair outta her face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he asks quietly.

"She wasn't." Cordelia says matter-of-factly answering for the sleeping slayer. Angel just sighs and stares at Faith with concerned eyes. He didn't notice the look of worry pass over Amanda's face before she left the room.

--

The next morning Faith awoke feeling as if someone told Donkey Kong it'd be a great idea to use her head as a trampoline. Groaning she turns over and pulls the blanket over her head to shield herself from the light.

"What was last night about?" a gentle voice asks from beside her. Her eyes fly open and land on Angel. She moves back slightly but stops her retreat before hitting the floor. "Sorry but... when my little sister used to have nightmares I'd hold her. You were having nightmares." he explains his reason for being in the bed beside her. She nods her head slightly.

"I always wanted a big brother to chase all the big bads away when I was a kid." she half jokes.

"You got it." Angel replies seriously. "You got that now Faith. You also have an ear that'll listen to you without judging you. No matter how stupid or pointless you think it is... I'll listen." he says softly. She nods her head after eying him for several long minutes. They bot sit up in the bed in silence and stare at the door as if they're waiting for something to come through it. Nothing comes. After thirty minutes Angel looks back at Faith in time to catch a tear slide down her face. He doesn't say anything as he pulls her to his larger frame rubbing a calming hand on her back. She finally calms down sometime later, leaning away to wipe her eyes quickly.

"It... it helped Angel." she starts. She had gotten used to opening up to the souled vampire over her time in jail with him being her only visitor and all. She had already told him somethings she'd sworn to never tell anyone. That doesn't make telling him any easier though. Even though she knew he'd listen and still think of her as Faith and not the killer she used to be doesn't make her telling him that she enjoyed the pain any easier.

"What helped?" he finally asks realizing that he may need to give her a small nudge.

"Feeling the pain. It helped." she explains slowly.

"Helped what?" he questions wanting to know what's going on in her head.

"Helped me forget. For that short amount of time it helped me forget." she explains to him. "God, what kinda freak am I?" she questions with a watery chuckle. Angel rests a hand on her shoulder forcing her to meet his eyes.

"You're not a freak. You're just somebody that has to adjust to something new." he tells her. She raises an eyebrow at him as if to say, 'yeah right' but doesn't say anything. "Look, everybody was worried about you last night so why don't we go downstairs and have breakfast to show 'em you're still here?" he asks hopefully. She sighs deeply and nods her head although she really didn't want too. "I'll wait outside the door while you get ready." he's up and out before she can say anything. She moves over to her dresser and pulls out a tank top and sweat pants. Moving slowly into the bathroom she cleans herself best she can with her injuries before meeting Angel outside the door. He smiles at her warmly before leading her down the stairs and into the conference room. She looks at him.

"You plan everything dontcha?" she asks lightly. He smiles a little before his face turns serious.

"Here we go." he ignores her question. When they walk in and all movement stops.

"Oh look, if it isn't miss human punching bag herself." Cordelia s the first to say something.

"Cordelia..." Angel tries to chastise. Cordelia rolls her eyes.

"What?" she snaps.

"Is now really the time for this?" Wesley speaks up.

"Sorry I worried you guys last night." Faith says almost too quietly for everyone to hear her but they do luckily.

"What the hell were you thinking Faith? You can't just go out like that!" Buffy finally makes her presence known. "You could've been really hurt." she says showing that her explosion is out of concern.

"Whatever I'm fine. Can we just forget it?" Faith snaps back.

"No Faith we can't just forget it. We had to get you out of a vamp nest. Do you not get that you could've died in there?" Cordelia questions wondering where Faith's mind was on vacation.

"And the only person that'd care is Fang anyway." Faith shoots back.

"We saved you Faith, we wouldn't have if we didn't care." Wesley says gently.

"No, you wouldn't have if it was your job. I'm an ex slayer Wes, not an idiot." Faith snaps. She's really tired of this group already.

"I-i was worried." Fred speaks up quietly.

"Us too." Gunn speaks up for himself and Lorne. Faith sighs.

"Sorry you guys I just needed to get out." she says. "And I ended up in the wrong place. Thanks." she says trying to move away from the subject.

"Y'know I'd think you'd be happy you weren't a slayer anymore. It's pretty much what got you in trouble the first time anyway." Cordelia says a few minutes later voicing exactly what she's thinking about. Faith clinches her jaw and fists to keep from lashing out.

"You just don't get it Cor." Faith grinds out.

"No I don't. I'd honestly be happy if I didn't have my powers anymore." Cordelia says. "Well sometimes anyway." she adds.

"I'm not you." Faith says harshly.

"No you're not, you're lucky." Cordelia responds.

"What makes you think that?" Faith asks with an edge to her voice.

"You can be normal now. You don't have to worry about slaying anymore. No more apocalypses." Cordelia says honestly. She's right.

"You make it sound so appealing." Buffy jokes.

"Are you really that stupid?! I thought the dumb cheerleader thing was an act but I dunno!" Faith exclaims jumping out of her chair.

"Goodness Faith, calm down." Cordelia says lightly.

"I can't fucking calm down when yet again I didn't get a say in what happened with my life!" Faith yells. Everyone looks at her confused. "That spell that Buffy felt was necessary changed me." she finally says.

"Don't try and blame this on me. If you didn't like the idea you coulda said something." Buffy says defensively.

"So you can chew me out and tell everybody how bad an idea it'd b to listen to a murderer?" Faith asks back.

"I'm not taking the blame for something I had no control over." Buffy says defiantly.

"You suggested that spell! You had SOME control over it! More than I did." Faith leans across the table red faced and angry.

"We needed the extra power! I did what I had to do! I'm the Slayer which means I gotta make the hard decisions. That spell was what was best!" Buffy replied standing up as well now.

"YOU WEREN'T THE SLAYER! I WAS! IT WAS MY JOB!" Faith screams almost at the top of her lungs.

"Because you're so good at doing it." Buffy replied. That statement stung more than she realized. "Faith, that spell did good. We made an army. A slayer army." Buffy tried a little more calm. Something within Faith snapped at that.

"That spell didn't just create new slayers, it took my life away!" she yelled annoyed, hurt, and confused. Everybody paused, letting the depth of that statement and the pain in Faith's voice sink in. This was more serious than Angel thought. Everybody seemed to blink at the same time as time seemed to restart.

"The other day I said I wanted to help you." Cordelia starts.

"With what Cor? There's nothin to help me with. Everything that meant somethin is gone and..." Faith stops.

"And we'll help you get it back." Cordelia responded. "But you gotta like... you gotta let us help." She adds. Faith stares at her for a minute.

"I don't want your help. I wanna be me." she says finally.

"I-i'm sorry Faith." Willow whispers.

"Little late for that Red." spoken calmly. No resentment present. Just defeat. It was an odd thing from Faith. Sadly enough, Angel was used to that sound and look in her eyes.

"B-but I-" Faith shakes her head before exiting the room quickly. Everyone stays in their places after the door slams. Nobody sure of what to do. Even more confused than before. The door opens up to reveal an angry looking Amanda. Her eyes settle on Buffy.

"She's right y'know. You didn't really give anybody a choice in this." she says angrily. Buffy doesn't even bother to get defensive. She just answers.

"I did what I thought was best." she says quietly.

"What about what was best for the people who didn't want this?!" Amanda asks hotly. The anger in her is undeniable and it matches Faith's earlier anger. That scared them a little.

"I-I" Amanda cuts her off.

"The great Buffy Summers doesn't have the answers anymore?" Amanda taunts.

"Hey back off! Buffy's been doing this a lot longer than anybody else."Dawn steps in to defend her sister.

"And I wouldn't be doing this at all if it weren't for her. This isn't what I wanted." Amanda responds not taking her eyes off Buffy.

"And you think I did?!" defensive angry Buffy decided to make an appearance.

"So now we have to suffer with you?!" is the only response she gets.

"Look just... go back out there with the other slayers and I'll-: she doesn't get to finish that statement.

"No, I'm leaving." Amanda says.

"What?" now confused Buffy is here.

"I. am. Leaving." Amanda says slowly as if talking to a small child.

"You can't leave." Buffy says getting annoyed.

"Yes I can. Bye now." she says turning on her heal and leaving in a huff.

"Was that the same Amanda that lived with us?" Xander questions.

"Yep." Dawn replies.

"The same shy Amanda who played stupid games with Andrew?" is his next question.

"Yep." is Dawn's same reply.

"You sure?" he asks for clarification. Dawn nods her head. "Wow." he says.

"Becoming a slayer changes people." is all Buffy says before everyone is silent again.

--

At a local bus station two brunettes sit in silence.

"You're what I wanna be." Faith says out of nowhere.

"And I don't wanna be here at all." Amanda replies. They both nod.

"Where ya headed?" Faith asks. Amanda shrugs.

"Not sure. I was just going to get on the bus and sleep and wherever I wake up is where I land." she says. "You?" she questions turning her blue eyes on Faith.

"I'm not sure yet." she says with a sigh. They sit there for a few more minutes before the bus arrives. Standing up they offer each other tight smiles of luck. They face the bus and take a deep breath ready to face the world.

--

A short time later Faith and Amanda are sitting side by side as another bus passes them in the station. They turn to each other and can't help but laugh.

"We've been here for hours." Amanda says between giggles.

"Hey it was your fault we missed the first one!" Faith exclaims. Amanda shakes her head before turning serious again.

"I don't have a choice and neither do you." she starts. Faith's eyes grow dark for a moment before Amanda finishes. "But I need to be trained and you're good." she says quickly.

"You tryina ask me to train ya kid?" Faith questions. Amanda nods. "Not my gig. You need to go to Buffy for that." she says with some bitterness but not towards Buffy.

"C'mon! We could be our own little team!" Amanda tries looking at Faith with puppy dog eyes. Faith eyes her for a few minutes before sighing.

"There's somethin about cha kid. Alright. But first, I need to see Angel.: Faith says. Amanda nods and follows Faith. This time they actually leave the bus station. Faith stops just outside. "Are ya sure about this?" She asks. Amanda nods.

"Yes." she says firmly. Faith nods her head but is unsure herself. _What the fuck did I just get into? _She asks herself.


	3. Chapter 3

The Los Angeles night is still and silent. The moon casting a warm glow against the dark pavement. The rumble of a heavy engine could be heard in the distance breaking the peace.

--

Faith sees nothing except the road ahead of her. She doesn't hear the engine beneath her roar nor does she feel the wind rapidly move against her skin. The trees around her are a blur, the only light leading her is the light on the front of her motorcycle.

--

A young brunette turns over fitfully in her sleep. Muscles twitching and tensing beneath her skin, her face contorted in concentration. Her eyes are closed tightly and she is wrapped in a sheet of sweat. Flipping her body to the left slightly, she tosses the actual sheet off the bed. Frowning, her mouth twitches.

--

Leaves rustle in the form of a tornado as the machine whips past them at an alarming rate. The pavement rocks steadily under the abuse of rubber. Moonlight blending with local street lamps lighting up the bike and its rider ever so slightly. Under the helmet you can see hair flowing wildly in and attempt to keep up with its owner.

--

Faith's grip on the handles tighten ever so slightly. Feeling her gloves beneath her hands, rumbling between her legs, power rushing through her. Adrenaline. Titling her body a little, she steers around the corner speeding up even more.

--

The brunette figure tosses and turns repeatedly; searching for a comfortable position. The moonlight illuminates the room in paleness. The brunette's jaw tenses before her face relaxes for a split second. More frowning. More tossing. More turning. More restless sleep.

--

The sun is starting to peak out above the horizon, casting a glow against the world. The motorcycle and its driver see no end in sight. Only more ground to cover.

--

Faith misses the sunrise but she does catch the beginning of a new day. She still notices nothing around her. Only her and her bike exist. Without blinking, she switches lanes and pulls the next exit. Making her way through cars and complexes, she starts to slow her bike. Coming closer to a cliff, she comes to a complete stop. Dismounting she stands and removes her helmet. Walking over to the edge, she runs a hand through her hair. Taking a moment to just breath, she glances around. Tossing her helmet down and removing her gloves, she runs a shaky hand through her wild hair and breathes deeply.

"It took you long enough." a voice says from behind her. She turns to greet a woman in her mid to late forties, warm smile on her face. Faith frowns and shrugs.

"It's only been a day." she replies. The woman moves to stand beside her, staring out over at nothing.

"That's what you feel like isn't it?" she asks. Faith nods, already knowing what the older woman is referring too.

"Absolutely." is quiet response. The two women stand in silence for several long minutes before Faith turns toward her companion. "What am I gonna do Di?" she questions, fear and anxiousness creeping into her voice. The woman, known now as Di, turns toward Faith with a smile but only looks past her head.

"When you were ten, you had a pet bird. Took that little thing almost everywhere with you." she starts with a fond smile. "You were so proud because you'd worked to save your money to buy her." shaking her head, Di makes eye contact with Faith for the briefest of moments. "Then one day you come home from school and her cage is empty. Nothing but seeds in it. You came running tome and asked what happened to her." she continues.

"You said she had to fly to get milk from the store." Faith cuts in with a small smile.

"And when she didn't come back a week later you figured it out." pause. "You always smarter than you let on." Faith averts her eyes. "Anyway, you cried that night too. You said that taking care of that bird was the only thing you had ever been good at. And you thought that'd you never be good at anything else." she says.

"I was right." Faith say s bitterly.

"You were called. You were a fantastic slayer." Di says.

"And yet you're dead. Look, you really don't gotta re-"

"Shut up Faith." Di commands. Faith scowls but says nothing. "What did you do the months after that bird died?" she asks quickly. Faith shows her confusion.

"I went home and took care of my ma. So?" she questions.

"And after she died?" Di asks.

"I slayed, ate, slayed some more." she says with a shrug still not following the older woman's train of thought. "All of this is relevant how?" she asks.

"Because after all of those things, you moved on." Di says gently. Faith shakes her head.

"I never moved past lettin you die." she whispers. Di smiles a gentle, but sad, smile.

"You will. One day, you will." she says. Stepping closer to Faith, she wraps her arms around the younger girl. "And now, you have to find out who you are. Not a slayer but who is Faith?" Di asks stroking Faith's back gently. For a few moments' Faith doesn't respond in anyway but slowly, she brings her arms to wrap around the woman.

"You were a great watcher Di." She says into the woman's shoulder. Di just smiles. "And a pretty damn good Ma too." she adds hugging the older woman tighter.

"I'm so proud of you Faith." Di tells her with evident tears in her voice. Faith chuckles bitterly.

"How can ya be? I'm a fuckin murderer Di. You'd be ashamed." she says. Di pulls away from Faith quickly.

"Don't ever think I'm ashamed of you. And I am proud of you. It took a lot to admit you'd done wrong....and even more to try and fix your mistakes."

"But I was.. Am...was evil Di." Faith tries. The watcher shakes her head.

"No... if you were, you wouldn't have cared. Ever. There was a part of you that always cared... you were human and you got caught up. It happens."

"You're sayin it like I just broke a fucking glass or somethin here! I killed people!"

"And you live with that every day." Di says just as gently. Pulling all the way back she smiles and wipes Faith's tears away. "Find out who you are in here." she says pointing to Faith's chest.

"I-I" the young girl starts.

"Shh, you can. And I can promise you that whoever you become... will make me proud." she says. Smiling at Faith through tears she kisses her forehead. "I love you Faith." she whispers.

"I love you too Di." Faith says with a small smile. "And I kinda miss ya." she adds. Di nods her head.

"I'm not far away Faith. If you need me, I'll come." she says. Faith smile and turns back to stare over the cliff. It's still empty and she can relate. But now she also has a feeling that an emptiness can be filled.

--

Turning over, Faith groans. Sitting up and twisting her back she notes that it is still dark outside and the moonlight is shining brightly. Glancing to the side she sees it is only a little after two am. Shaking her head, she gets up from the bed and makes her way into the hall. Making her way down the stairs, she scans the room for Angel.

"Hey, you seen Fang?" she asks a random slayer. The girl nods, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. She nods her thanks and makes her way towards the kitchen. She can hear laughing and joking and a tightening happens in her chest. She's not sure where it's from but she has a feeling. _Not goin there Lehane. No way are you jealous of these fucks. _She scolds herself. She opens the door and walks straight across to Angel, completely ignoring the way the room fell silent.

"I gotta talk to ya." She says. He nods immediately leaving his mug of blood and leading her to his office. Sitting down, he motions for her to follow suit.

"What's wrong?" he asks. She shrugs and wets her lips quickly.

"Nothings wrong I just... I need to figure some shit out," she starts. "And I need to do that somewhere not surrounded by what I'm not y'know?" she tries. He nods. "But I really don't have anywhere to go." she continues.

"Whatever you need. I'll do what I can." he says immediately. Nodding Faith takes a deep breath.

"First off, I need my record cleared. I mean, I don't wanna be on the run from the law constantly watchin my back, but I don't wanna go back in there either. I can't figure out who I am in there." she says quietly. Nodding, Angel offers,

"I can get that done along with getting you a one bedroom apartment. It'll be fully furnished and paid up. I'll give you some money for clothes and other things then all you have to do is move in, find a job, and keep in touch." he says. She nods.

"Make it a two bedroom and you got a deal." she says.

"Two?" he questions.

"Yeah, uh. Amanda's comin with." she says. He nods.

"Alright. I'll get started on that first thing in the morning." he says with a firm nod. Faith grins.

"Thanks Fang." she says. Standing up, he calls to her once more.

"Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck, Faith." he says with a smile. "You've always got me on your side." he adds. She smiles and ducks her head before leaving. _This is gonna be hard. _She thinks. _But I think it just might be worth it. _She smiles, making her way back to her room. _Thanks Di. _She thinks.


	4. Chapter 4

You guys rock so much for reviewing! This chapter deals with indirect self harm(causing harm to yourself but using someone else's body). Just thought I'd warn you, y'know, just in case.

* * *

Turning over and groaning yet again, Faith glances at the clock quickly. Two am yet again. This is the second night in a row she's woken up around slayer playtime. Last night for a completely different reason when she asked for help. Tonight, she just can't sleep. Getting up from the bed, she stretches her muscles and pops her bones. Moving over to the closet, she eyes the new wardrobe that Angel made her buy. Blue jeans, sweats, plenty of tanks and a leather jacket. Throwing on some dark blue jeans and a blank tank top, she throws on her boots and jacket before walking out of the hotel unnoticed. Roaming around, she stops outside a bar and decides to enter. It's pretty quiet and stale smoke and beer fill the air. Flopping down on a stool right at the bar, she slaps her hand down a few times.

"JD!" she tells the bar man excitedly. He smiles, winks, and moves off to pour her drink. Bringing it back, she nods her thanks and pulls out her wallet. "Just keep em comin man." she says raising her glass. He nods and makes his way over to the next customer.

"Well if it isn't the Darth Slayer herself." she hears after about four drinks. Blinking into her now empty glass, her eyes dart to the side while her head stays directly ahead. Her brows furrow when she spots blond hair. Knowing instantly that it wasn't Buffy, the hair was to short, she turned slowly to face Andrew.

"What the hell are ya doin here Andy?" she asks, barely slurring. Shrugging, the short annoying blond man takes a seat beside her.

"I've come to drown my woes in the alcohol of time." he says dramatically. Blinking at him, Faith shrugs.

"Whatever." she says and holds up her glass.

"What can I get ya ki- how old are you?" the barman asks Andrew.

"Twenty two." he says handing over his ID and ordering a beer. Spinning around to look him in the face, Faith leans a little closer towards Andrew.

"Where'd ya get a fake ID?" she whispers conspiratorially.

"Warren made them before..." he trails off swallowing his now present beer. Grimacing at the taste, he frowns at the bottle. "Ugh, this is horrible. How people ever drink this on a regular basis I will never understand." he says more to himself than anything.

--

Several drinks later, Faith is feeling more than floaty.

"Wadda ya say we da-hiccup-dance a little bit?" she asks Andrew. He turns to her and giggles before nodding.

"S-sure...we can....um...what were we doin?" he asks with a frown. Faith smiles then frowns herself.

"We were leavin." she says. Then her face brightens. "Yeah! That a musical park opened down up the streets!" she says happily leading Andrew out of the bar. Shaking his head, the bartender chuckles a little. The cool air hits them both in the face like a physical blow. Throwing his arm over her slightly taller shoulders, Andrew leans against Faith.

"Why'd ya come out tonight Faith?" he asks in a whisper.

"To get away." she responds. They stop to sit down on a bus stop bench.

"From what?" he asks, still highly intoxicated.

"From what I'm not." she whispers. She looks up at him, tears swimming in her eyes. "Have you ever hated yourself more than everybody else hates you?" she asks. He looks at her sadly for a few minutes before nodding sadly.

"Yeah...everybody thought I got on their nerves....it's nothing compared to having to live with yourself knowing everybody thinks of you as a burden." he says honestly. _Guess the truth really does come out when alcohol goes in. _He thinks. Nodding her head, Faith sighs.

"How drunk are ya?" she asks. Standing up stretching, Andy groans.

"About as drunk as you are. I'll go back inside and ask them to call us a cab." he says. Faith nods as Andrew staggers back inside. Standing on unsteady legs, Faith moves toward an alley. Blinking, she moves and leans against the wall.

"Faith?!" she hears. Knowing that it's only Andrew, she ducks behind a dumpster. "Faith?!" she hears getting further away as Andrew searches for her. Sitting down, she pulls her knees up to her chest and leans forward wrapping her arms around them. Resting her forehead on her forearms, she breathes in deep and tries to block the noises around her out. When she finally succeeds, her mind is flooded by nasty inner voices.

"You were never good enough to be a slayer." one taunts.

"You were always just a fuck up." another tells her. Leaning her head back against the dumpster, she closes her eyes and lets a few tears leak out.

"I'm not." she says.

"Not what? A fuck up? You know it's true. You know, you were on the right track when you asked Angel to kill you..." the voice trails off.

"You were weak then but now... now you're pathetic." a final voice taunts. Opening her now red and puffy eyes, Faith stands up and clinches her jaw. Walking on unsteady legs, she exits the back of the alley. Turning, she starts to run.

"Maybe you should do the world a favor and just...end it." a tiny voice screams. Pushing herself harder, she stops when she sees a group of people walking across the street. She stops and starts in a slow walk and she notices they all focus on her immediately. She turns to glance at them and something in her mind screams 'Vampires!' "Perfect opportunity." she mutters to herself. Making sure she's still walking slow, she crosses the street and eases pass them. Hearing one whistle, she feels her heart speed up.

"Hey there beautiful." one calls out. Turning around she sees that they are right behind her and already vamped out, she feels her heart drop. "Mind if we take ya to dinner?" the leader asks, a vampire type nasty smirk on his face. Steeling herself, she smirks.

"Don't I get flowers first boys?" she asks in an innocent voice. _I don't deserve this to be quick. _She thinks sadly, smile not fading.

"Sure, right this way Ms. Lady." the leader leads her to another alley. _Why does LA have so many alleys's makes it the ideal place for vampires. _She thinks with an internal sigh. Entering the alley with her new 'friends', she looks around.

"Where are they?" she asks as if she's clueless.

"Close your eyes and you'll see them." another says lunging for her. Moving out of the way, she picks up a trash can lid. _Maybe if I annoy them, they'll draw it out....like I did Wesley. _She thinks. She swings the lid and hits one in the face. Grunting behind the force, he yanks it away from her.

"You shouldn't'a did that girly." he says with a twisted smile. Throwing a punch, he catches her fist before it even gets close to his face and twists her arm around. Bringing it up behind her back roughly, he spins her and grabs her other arm. Licking her neck, he inhales deeply. "Mmm, boss, I think we need to uh....tenderize....this meal. She seems a little tough." referring to her struggling.

"I think you're right." his boss says. Stepping in front of Faith, he raises a hand to her face. Drawing his hand back, he punches her in the nose dead on. Feeling the blow and hearing the crunch of bone brought tears to Faith's eyes. _I deserve this. I deserve more. _She thinks. Jumping up, she kicks the vampire in the chest, using the one whose holding her as leverage. Face contorted in annoyance, the vampire punches her in the stomach twice before pulling her away from the vampire by her hair. He throws her into a wall and kicks the back of her knee bringing her down and bringing her face to collide with the wall. Pain rips through her body like a tornado through the Midwest and all she can do is close her eyes. _I deserve this. _Is the last thing she thinks before her world goes black.

--

Faith slowly makes her way back to consciousness sometime later but the process isn't easy. Not as easy as the last time she woke up in extreme pain. All the sounds around her are drowned, giving the impression that she is underwater. Immediately wetness gathers behind her closed eyes and her brow furrows. She takes a deep breath through her nose, but flinches when her nose flares outward. Finally, she struggles to open her eyes. After a few minutes, she finally gets them open but her vision is blurry and not only is the light painful but there's a distinct pain behind having her eyes closed for an undetermined amount of time. Trying to turn her head, she feels a stiffness in her neck and decides to just hold still for a moment. Swallowing, she notices something not right about her mouth. Bringing her arm up, she slowly feels around her face and winces when she touches her cheek but almost chokes when she feels a tube in her mouth.

"Stop messing with that!" she hears. The voice sounds louder than it probably is but she stops nonetheless. "All we need is for you to yank that out and hurt yourself so our friendly neighborhood vampire can brood even more." Cordelia she places the tone of voice. Turning her head, the blurry outline tells her she's right. Moving her mouth, she sees what she thinks is Cordelia holding up her hand. "Shh, whatever is on your mind, I'm sure I don't care. You just go back to sleep and when you wake up someone without a life will be here." Cordelia tells her. The words cut Faith, knowing that Cordelia could care less. But it's odd for her because she already knew Cordelia didn't care. But that didn't make it hurt less.

--

Jumping back into the world of the living, Faith opens her eyes, a much easier task. Blinking, the ceiling comes into focus finally and she turns her head. Her eyes land on a very angry looking Amanda.

"You're just trying to fuck things up arent you?" Amanda asks angrily. Moving her hand to her mouth, she notices the tube is gone but doesn't get a chance to reply. "When he found you...." she pauses. "You didn't even try to fight back." Amanda says finally. Flopping down in a chair, she glares something fierce at Faith. "He didn't know you weren't a slayer anymore, so he stayed out of the way. He watched you let this happen." Amanda says.

"Who?" Faith rasps after several seconds of trying to pull the words from her mind.

"Andrew. He followed you into that alley." she whispers. Closing her eyes, Faith's head rolls back to its original place. "And Angel is really reconsidering letting you train me. Although he doesn't really have a say in what happens, he just might not help us." Amanda says.

"I think you should stay with B anyway." Faith says with an almost shrug.

"So you want me to stay with the better slayer?" Amanda asks innocently.

"The only real slayer." Faith retorts.

"No, the better one. I mean, she wouldn't have let that happen to herself....even if she weren't a slayer." Amanda says matter-of-factly.

"She was never a better slayer than me." Faith says, starting to get angry.

"Well I'm just saying.... look at where you are then...where she is." Amanda throws out.

"Whatever. She's not a better slayer than I am...was...." Faith pauses.

"Well, I'm gonna go tell her I'm coming with them. Good luck with your life." Amanda says cheerily.

"Wait!" Faith exclaims. Amanda looks at her with an expressionless face. "You really... would you really still trust me?" she asks a little fearfully. Amanda shrugs.

"You've never really given me a reason not too. It would be unfair to not trust you because everybody says I shouldn't I mean..... I wasn't there." she says.

"But I never really gave you a reason to trust me either." Faith whispers. Amanda shrugs and nods.

"True, but you can." she says before leaving the room and Faith to her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she lets a few tears escape. _How the fuck can she even care after what I've done? _She asks herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Oh my alkaseltzer plus! It's finally up! Its actually been finished a while I just kept forgetting. sorry! anyways, hope you like it. review please?

* * *

Arguing. That's the first thing that registers in Faith's mind when she slowly regains consciousness thought this time around. The distinct sound of two raised and angry voices, both on opposing sides, both trying to drive home a point. The first voice she distinctly makes out is her lifeline. Angel. He was angry but at what she couldn't figure out.

"No!" that shriek. She recognizes it as Cordelia Chase. Apparently Angel is trying to ask her to do something that she feels is out of the question. Whatever it may be, it's causing them to get loud and in turn giving Faith a headache.

"They've been goin at it for about forty five minutes." Faith hears. Her eyes snap to her left at the window where Amanda is casually leaning looking outside.

"Why?" Faith croaks out. Her throat and mouth are still dry. Hearing Faith's voice causes Amanda to move over and get her some water.

"Angel wants Cordelia to come with us, to keep an eye on us since he can't, and she doesn't want to 'be involved with a psycho who tried to kill her classmates'. Her words, not mine." Amanda replies. Faith drinks the water greedily before what Amanda just said dawns on her. Swallowing several times, she clears her throat.

"C-could you go get Fang for me?" she asks. Nodding her head, Amanda makes sure Faith is comfortable before rushing out the room. Murmurs are heard as Amanda addresses Angel then shortly later Angel, Amanda and much to Faith's discomfort, Cordelia, pour in. Clearing her throat and looking around the room her eyes focus on the wall.

"Look, I wa-" she's cut off by Angel.

"I don't want apologies or excuses Faith. I want to know what the hell you were thinking!" he practically roars. Looking at him in what was close to shock at such a reaction, she swallows and glances at Cordelia quickly. Angel gets the hint and turns to Cordelia slightly.

"Cordelia, could you and Amanda wait outside?" he asks softly.

"What? Oh hell no, you want me to live with her. There is no way I'm missing this explanation." Cordelia retorts glaring at Faith who wont meet her eyes.

"Cordelia...." Angel trails off. He gives her a pointed look causing her to throw her hands up.

"Fine, don't let me in on the secret of the insane. Just don't expect me to live with her." she says.

"Y'know I really don't think I'd be able to live with you for more than a day before goin back to prison." Faith snaps tired of Cordelia's attitude.

"Angel you should really neuter you're dog." Cordelia says dryly.

"Fuck you, Cordelia. I'd rather get stuck in a hell dimension than be stuck with you longer than I have to. Get outta my hospital room." Faith growls. Cordelia stares her down for a few long seconds. "Get the fuck out!" Faith bellows causing everyone in the room, including, Cordelia to jump a little. There was a certain tone behind the words that they hadn't heard in a long time coming from Faith. Hate. Feeling a shiver run through her, Amanda turns back to the window. Glaring at the bed ridden woman a moment longer, Cordelia turns on her heel and stalks out of the room. Sighing unnecessarily, Angel turns to Faith.

"Faith..." he starts in a worried tone.

"What Liam?" she snaps back at him. Drawing back at the tone, Angel hides the hurt he feels. _Ouch. _He thinks. Blinking quickly, Faith looks sorry. "Sorry Fang I just.... she pissed me off and I just..." she tries to explain.

"I don't want to talk about Cordelia right now. I want to talk about you. What was going through your head?" he asks glancing at Amanda quickly.

"Don't even think about kicking me outta here. I'm not budging." Amanda says without turning around.

"I was.... I wanted to make them stop. They just kept tellin' me I wasn't worth it.....that I deserved to hurt cus I had hurt people so much....and I wanted them to stop." she explains with a confused look. Frowning in confusion himself, Angel scratch his chin.

"Make who stop Faith?" he asks slowly.

"The vo- oh god I've gone crazy!" she says with wide eyes and a panicked look. Angel figures it may have been comical if Faith wasn't absolutely petrified.

"Nah, you're not crazy. You're inner voices just got the better of you." Amanda says casually facing Faith. "You do, however, have some serious self-esteem issues. Which is strange because I remember Xander saying you were so arrogant or something or other a-" Faith cuts her off.

"What the hell are you talkin bout kid?" she asks. Angel silently watches their interaction and how quickly Faith calmed down. _I don't think she even realizes it. _He thinks with a small smile. _I used to be her big brother.... _he thinks sadly. He remembers that Faith really looked up to him. Then he thinks about what he's thinking. _Its not like she still doesn't. And she's not leavin me or anything. She's just got somebody else to count on now. _He thinks happily. Faith turns back to him and watches as the emotions play over his face. Tilting her head to the side a little she reaches over and grabs his larger hand. Blinking, he focuses his eyes on Faith and squeezes her hand.

"I'm not goin nowhere Fang. And if I do, I know I need to check in. I just can't move on while I'm here." she whispers. He smiles in understanding.

"That's why I left Sunnydale in the first place. I couldn't move on with the past constantly in my face." he whispers. Nodding, Faith offers him a tight smile.

"You don't need to have Queen Bitch babysit us, Angel. We'll be fine, it was.... it wont happen again." she promises sincerely. He smiles at her, his eyes holding a hint of something in them,

"I trust you, Faith. I just want somewhere there in case you get hurt..... I don't want...." he trails off. He stops talking and shakes his head. "I'm gonna go talk to Cordy for a minute, you guys handle whatever you need to." he says motioning towards Amanda. Nodding as he leaves, Faith turns her eyes to Amanda. She scratches her cheek for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"C-could you thank Andy for me?" she asks in a low whisper. Amanda smiles.

"I've got an idea on how you could thank him for saving your life...." she trails off. Faith whimpers. _Uh oh. What did I just get into?! _She internally asks. Soon, she'll find out.

--

Angel smiles at the sight of Cordelia pacing outside of Faith's room. He wasn't really sure why Cordelia acted the way she did around Faith but he was going to find out. Removing his smile, he stepped in her line of vision. She stops pacing and looks at him.

"Cordelia, what's wrong with you?" he asks gently. She rolls her eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with me, you should ask your psyc-" he cuts her off.

"Don't. Cut the crap and tell me what's going on? I understand that you hate her, or really dislike her for what she did, but you aren't exactly a nun yourself." he says. She sighs.

"Angel, I never tried to kill my friends." she says as if she's said this over and over again. He nods.

"True, but when you think about things, neither did she." he says casually. She raises an eyebrow.

"Uh, hello. Were you living, or un-living, in the same Sunnydale that I was? With the same Faith and the same Buffy and all that?" she asks. He nods.

"Yep, but I'm also seeing things that you don't want to. Like the fact that while Buffy and the gang were friends, Faith wasn't really a part of that. I'll admit, they tried, a little. Like she tried, a little, but nobody really tried enough. Everybody's to blame on that." he explains. She sighs and sits down heavily.

"I wanna hate her, for what she did Angel but.... I can't. Like you said, I wasn't exactly little Bo peep myself but I never did anything as bad as what she did. And even though I should, even though she deserves it, I can't hate her." she says. "I mean, I don't forgive her, and I'm pretty pissed off that she hurt everybody I care about on some level, but I just.... I dunno." she explains further. Nodding, he kneels in front of his friend.

"Why...why don't you talk to her? Try and see how she sees things and then maybe...maybe this wont weigh on your mind so much." he offers. She looks like she wants to protest but decides against it.

"Alright, but don't expect me to trust her. Or enjoy this." she says standing.

"I wouldn't dare think that." Angel says rolling his eyes. "Go. It might help." he says motioning towards Faith's door. Steeling herself, she pushes the door open.

--

Cordelia watches as Faith rolls her eyes when she enters the room. _Why does she hate me? It's not like I tried to kill her and all her friends. _She thinks to herself. Faith, on the other hand, was just wondering if she really deserved the punishment of dealing with Cordelia right now.

"What?" Faith asks after watching Cordelia eye her up and down.

"I need to some answers." Cordelia replies.

"Encyclopedia, dictionary, Guinness book, all good resources." Faith retorts.

"From you and why you did what you did." Cordelia elaborates. She watches as the emotions play over Faith's face.

"Alright, but you're not gonna like it." Faith says. Cordelia nods and sits, waiting for Faith's explanation....


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry guys! sorry it took so long! i'm gonna try and update my fics sooner and with more consistency but i make no promises. plz review!

* * *

"And? I'm waiting." Cordelia says impatiently after a few long seconds of waiting for Faith to speak.

"Got somewhere ya need to be? I'm not stoppin ya." Faith says back. Cordelia rolls her eyes and huffs. "Cos I wanted too." Faith says simply. Cordelia motions with her hands for Faith to continue. "What?" Faith asks.

"That's it? Cos you wanted too?! You put us through all that because you fucking wanted too?!" she asks. Faith nods her head.

"Yep." the former slayer says. Cordelia stands up and paces the room glancing at Faith from time to time. Finally she sits down and studies the younger woman's face.

"Can we clear something up here?" Cordelia asks casually. Faith frowns in confusion but nods. "Angel wants me to live with you but I don't trust you and apparently you don't trust me," she begins.

"Glad we cleared that up!" Faith says cheerily.

"But that little arrangement isn't gonna work," Cordelia continues as if Faith hadn't interrupted. "How about I give you the benefit of the doubt, that you wont kill me in my sleep, and you tell me something about yourself?" Cordelia offers. Faith nods and thinks about something to tell Cordelia.

"My birthday is December fourteenth." she says randomly. Cordelia groans in annoyance.

"Can you tell me something else maybe?" she asks through gritted teeth. _Why wont she just tell me why she did it?! _She thinks to herself.

"My favorite food is spaghetti." Faith says. She almost smiles at the annoyed look her answer gets her but holds back. _How can I tell her when I don't know my damn self? _She silently asks herself.

"Whatever." Cordelia mutters standing to leave the room. Amanda stares Faith down for a long second before opening her mouth to speak. Faith cuts her off,

"I wasn't bein' an ass on purpose, I just can't answer that question yet." she says.

"Why not?" Amanda asks.

"Cos I don't know the answer to it myself." Faith whispers. She doesn't notice the door close or the almost shocked expression on Cordelia's face.

--

Cordelia leans against the hospital wall heavily and rolls her eyes skyward.

"This is going to be difficult isn't it?" she asks nobody in particular.

"Dealing with Faith? Yeah." she hears from her left. She almost jumps out of her skin when she notices one of the baby slayers standing close to her. She also notices the younger girl carries a teddy bear and flowers and a card.

"Uh..." she trails off.

"Kennedy." the younger girl extends her hand outward. The older woman just nods.

"Cordelia." she says not bothering to shake the slayer's hand. "Look, tell Faith I'll be back later." she says and then she's gone. Kennedy just stares down at her hand that's still outward and shrugs.

"Oh well." she says entering Faith's room.

--

Faith glances up at the sound of her door opening. She allows a small smile to grace her lips when she sees it's just Kennedy.

"Hey, Junior." she greets. Kennedy smiles and moves over.

"Hey, how ya feelin'?" the younger woman asks. Faith shrugs.

"Not bad I guess. Just wanna get outta this damn place." she says. Kennedy nods and turns to look at Amanda.

"Hey, uh, Dawn was lookin' for you earlier. Something about borrowing one of your tops." Kennedy says with a shrug. Amanda nods and turns to Faith.

"Be good, no abusing doctors, or Kennedy." she says leaving the room. Faith just lets a soft smile play on her face before it vanishes. Kennedy eyes the former slayer with a close, concentrated look.

"I think..." she starts. "I think that this," she says motioning around the room. "is what you needed. I mean, sure I don't know you very well but you just seem so... lost." Kennedy says. _She always was the bold one. _Faith thinks.

"I'm not lost and this really isn't what I need. I did somethin stupid now I'm stuck in here for a few days. Nothin more too it." she says with a note of finality in her voice. Kennedy decides not to press her luck. She nods and hands Faith the teddy bear and balloon.

"From me, Willow, and Andrew." she says. Faith nods.

"Thanks." she says. An awkward silence falls over them.

"I'm ju-" Kennedy starts.

"You remind me a lot of me. You wanna do the slayer thing cos it makes you feel special, like an individual even though you're one of many. You're a strong fighter but you don't use your head. A lot like I was. Just...be careful with that, Kid. Don't let it control you." Faith cuts in. Kennedy stares at her for long minutes before nodding and silently leaving the room. _Good things never come when ya do, _Faith thinks in the silence of the room.

--

Angel stood outside Faith's hospital room later that night. He could see Faith in the room working on a word search, he could smell the anxiousness from outside the door. Faith was getting antsy and wanted to move but the soreness of her body wouldn't allow for it. He opened the door quietly, moving into the room not making a sound.

"Sometimes you're just plain creepy," Faith says not looking up. The vampire smiles.

"The whole watching from a distance thing?" he questions dryly.

"The sniffing the air." she says simply. She remains focused on her word search as he studies her.

"Cordelia told me she asked you why earlier." he says breaking the silence.

"And I told her." Faith replies, voice devoid of any sign of emotion. This was not a talk she was ready to have with anyone. Not even Angel.

"You lied." he says. He runs a hand over his face, "Look, I know you probably don't wanna think about it but one day you'll have too. In order for anybody to get closure, they're gonna need answers and you're gonna need to give them." he says gently. Faith puts her word search aside but doesn't look at Angel. He rests a cold hand on her warm forearm. "I trust Cordelia. I know she can be," pause. "Difficult but she's a good person. She needs someone to give her half a chance. Just like you do." he says softly. Faith takes a deep breath.

"How do you feel whenever Angelus takes over?" she asks. He blinks at her, confused.

"Wrong." he replies. She shakes her head.

"No, what does it make you feel? Honestly, Angel." she looks at him then. He takes an unneeded breath.

"Like... like nothing can stop me. I feel invincible. I feel so... powerful, it's... its a rush and it feels good but there's this voice," he stops and swallows.

"A voice telling you to stop it. That everyone is just gonna end up hurt but that power is taking over you big time. You can't stop it, hell you don't want too. You can make people bend at your will and you're not 'Angel, the vampire with a soul,' or a good guy anymore, you're free. That's how you feel isn't it?" she asks him, looking blankly into his dark brown eyes. He nods, understanding what she's saying.

"Yeah. It can take over you and... it's an addiction you don't want a cure for." he says. "Until you finally see what you've done," he adds. She nods.

"Yeah, then you feel like a dick." she says lightly. He nods.

"Faith..." he trails off searching for what to say.

"I'm not ready. Not yet." she says before he can finish. He can only nod and pat her hand awkwardly.

"Alright." he says. He leans over to kiss her temple before breezing from the room. Outside the hospital he bumps into Cordelia. He stops when he notices she has food from some burger place a couple blocks away. He raises an eyebrow.

"You wanted us to get along, so I brought a piece offering." she huffs, turning away from the souled creature. He nods,

"I hope you got apple pie. She loves apple pie." he says before walking away leaving a slightly annoyed Cordelia Chase behind. She huffed.

"Why should I care if she likes apple pie...." she muttered, but turned back towards the resteraunt anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

A brunette woman in her late thirties to early forties stalked through the halls of Los Angeles General. She wore a scowl as she made her way past the rooms, doctors, and patients. One doctor stepped in front of her with a clipboard and a glare,

"Annie, you promised to stay in your room." the doctor sighed.

"Yeah, well that was before I realized I didn't have cable. What do ya expect a woman to do 'round here?!" she said, thick Boston accent on display. The doctor sighed. "Look Doc, I'm not gonna sit around like a lump when there's nothin' wrong with me." she said. The doctor smiled.

"I know Annie, but you could at least try and pretend to follow doctors directions. Do I need to get nurse Jenny to come in and put something in your IV to put you out?" he asks running a hand through his salt and pepper hair.

"Why? It's not like I'm botherin anybody. All I'm doin' is takin a stroll, checkin' out the scenery." she says with her arms wide. The doctor eyes her.

"No getting into anything." he says sternly.

"Who? Me?" she asks innocently.

"Yes you. If I have to drag you off another security guard, we're gonna have a problem, understood?" he asks.

"He was comin' on to ME!" she protests.

"Understood?" he asks not paying her protests any attention. Waving a dismissive hand she nods.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go make some new friends. Seems like a party." she says sarcastically walking away.

"I mean it Annie!" the doctor calls out. She gives him the finger. He shakes his head, _that woman is somethin else. _He thinks with a smile.

--

Annie walked through the halls with a bored expression and a calm exterior. _Gee, this place is jumpin' with excitement, _she thought with an eye-roll. She turned the corner and bumped into a younger brunette woman.

"Sorry," she said reaching down to help the woman up.

"No problem. It's my fault for tryina break outta here so quick," the brunette joked. Annie smiled and looked up into the younger woman's face. Her smile fell as she studied her. The young brunette had to be around twenty or twenty one with an olive skin tone. She glanced up at Annie and offered her a small smile. White teeth stood out past pale lips and dimples caught her attention. This young woman was eerily familiar. And now, she was looking at Annie as if she had grown a second head. Finally snapping out of her daze, Annie smiled.

"No worries, I'm tryina break out myself before they start tryina feed me again. Someone should tell them just cos it's healthy doesn't mean it has to be tasteless." she joked back. The younger woman smiled again.

"Yeah, you'd think they'd give us real food instead cardboard." she said lightly.

"I know!" Annie said with a slight chuckle. The two women stood there for a moment until Annie spoke again, "I'm sorry, you look so familiar." she said. The younger woman tilted her head to the side with a furrowed brow. Annie tried to remember where she'd seen it before.

"Faith!" a doctor panted, "You're... not...sup-" wheeze "supposed to be outta the room!" he said, almost falling over trying to catch his breath. Faith shrugged.

"I told you to tie her up before you opened the door." another young brunette with blue eyes rounded the corner calmly. Faith stuck her tongue out at the younger woman. Annie watches in amusement.

"Damn Doc, all your patients give you a work out this good?" she asks. Faith smirks at Annie and turns back to 'Doc'.

"No, just you two! You're my worst patients! I swear you act like you're related!" he says jokingly. Faith chuckles and follows Amanda and the doctor back to her room. They miss the look that flashes over Annie's features.

--

Faith sat on the edge of her bed with a bored expression. The idiot doctor still wouldn't release her! She felt fine, Amanda said she looked fine, she didn't see why she was still her. Pouting, she started to swing her legs back and forth.

"I've seen pouts like that before. Lemme guess, you gotta stay a few extra days?" a voice asked from her doorway. She glanced up and noticed the same woman she'd bumped into earlier. Something about the woman put her at ease while at the same time put her on edge. It was confusing. She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Uh, yeah." she said somewhat awkwardly. The woman nodded but stayed where she was.

"I'm Annie, by the way." the woman said. Faith nodded.

"Faith." Annie nodded at her.

"Nice name." she acknowledged. Faith nodded and shifted a bit. She motioned for the woman to come in. Annie came in and grabbed the chair that Cordelia had taken last night. She pulled it away from Faith a bit, as if she knew that the younger woman would want space.

"So whatcha in for?" she asked after straddling the chair. Faith smiled,'

"You make it sound like we're in jail," she said, her eyes clouding.

"From what I hear it isn't that bad but the food on the other hand...." Annie trailed off.

"Bar fight," Faith lied. "You?" she asked.

"Husband fight." she says. Faith shows her confusion. "My husband's fist got into a fight with my body," Annie elaborates.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Faith offered awkwardly. Annie shrugged.

"It's OK, he fell down a flight of stairs." she said. Faith eyed the woman and Annie started to feel a little unsettled. "I wasn't just gonna sit back and let him put his hands on me. No way no how. Just cos some woman can't or don't fight back doesn't mean I wont." she said. Faith just smiled at her.

--

Cordelia Chase walked through the hospital halls calmly. She didn't have any anger in her stride as she moved towards Faith's room. Last night, they had gotten a lot in the open.

_--_

_Cordelia sat down in the chair beside Faith's bed and threw the food on her stomach. _

"_Eat up before the nurse comes." she said plainly. She watched as Faith sat up quickly and tore into the burger and fries she had. Finally with that finished off, she turned to the soda off to the side and glanced back in the bag. _

"_Ohh, pie." Faith said excitedly. Cordelia almost laughed at Faith's enthusiasm. _

"_It's apple," she threw out, watching with curiosity as Faith's chewing slowed down and she stared ahead with furrowed brows. "Angel said it was your favorite so... uh, I-" finally Faith's eyes settled on her, her expression unreadable. _

"_You bought me apple pie just cos Fang said it was my favorite?" she asked with a slightly arched brow. Cordelia huffed. _

"_Well yes. I was hoping it'd be a peace offering but if you do-" she said reaching for the pie._

"_Don't touch a woman's pie! What's wrong with you?!" Faith hissed. "It's sacred." Faith said. Cordelia blinked and Amanda choked on her drink trying not to laugh at Faith's expression. Cordelia held up her hands in surrender and sat back, turning to the news on the tv. "I did it cos I was mad." Faith said out of nowhere. _

"_Huh?" Cordelia asked. _

"_The shit back when we were kids, I did it cos I was mad. At everything. I felt like, everywhere I turned, I couldn't catch a break, y'know?" she said. _

"_But that wasn't our fault." Cordelia said, not angrily but not calmly either. Faith shrugged._

"_I know that now, then, I thought it was. I genuinely thought that I was... I don't know, doin' what was right for me. I guess since Bo- Richard offered me somethin that I had just lost, I jumped at it." she said. Amanda watched on in silence._

"_What'd he offer you? A chance to get back at everybody who cared for you? A chance to do whatever and not worry about consequences?" Cordelia's voice was hard and angry now._

"_Yeah. There was that. But it was also a chance to come out top dog. I was first in somebody's book. I grew up being put second or sometimes last until I met my watcher and she put me first. She always had my best at heart. Then she was gone and I was back to bein' second best. I was a back up slayer and all that and he offered me a chance to be first again." she continued, now looking Cordelia in the eye. "It was a good feeling. The power and adrenaline weren't half bad either." she said with a sad smirk. _

"_What did that have to do with us? I still don't get why you hurt us, you're friends." Cordelia said. _

"_Yeah ya do," Faith sighed. "You guys weren't my friends but that's Ok, not like I was Mary Poppins to you guys either. But you guys, you had meetings and shit without me. You only called me when ya needed man power." she said, not angry._

"_That's not....completely true." Cordelia replied._

"_It felt like it. And yeah, it is. I had started to trust B but... me and her both fucked that up. And you guys, the Scoobs, I know ya really didn't like me." Faith said matter-of-factly. _

"_So you're blaming us?" Cordelia asked. Faith nodded._

"_In a manner of speaking; yes. You guys are almost as guilty as I am. Don't think you hold none of it. I admit, most of it's on me, but in order for this to work, I need you to own up a little too." Faith said not at all fazed by Cordelia's glare. _

"_Fine, I admit I didn't treat you.... I wasn't your welcoming committee bu-" Faith cut her off._

"_That's all I needed to hear." she said with a smile. "Thanks for the pie." she said as an after thought. Cordelia knew they had officially called a truce in that moment. _

--

By the time she reached Faith's room however, she was annoyed with the younger woman. She burst through the door, completely ignoring the woman in the chair,

"Faith! Why do you feel you have to torment Doctor Miles?" she asks, hands on her hips.

"Its fun." Faith says simply.

"It was funny." Amanda piped up. Cordelia glared at both of them.

"You two, just don't...." she trailed off.

"Hey, I'm not a part of it. She's the little demon." Amanda said pointing at Faith.

"Am not!" Faith said indignantly.

"Are too!" Amanda replied. _Oh yeah, they are sooo mature, _she thought with a smile as the two continued to bicker. Annie watched the entire exchange from her seat.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey folks! Thanks for the reviews and your interest in Annie. No worries, she'll be here next chappie hopefully.

* * *

Angel paced back in forth in front of Gunn.

"And you're absolutely sure she'll be clear? None of those charges will ever come back?" he asks for the hundredth time causing Gunn to role his eyes.

"Yes Angel. Faith won't have to worry about anything. She doesn't even have an out of date parking ticket. She can apply for a job and not be hunted down." Cordelia and Gunn say at the same time in bored tones.  
"See man? Even Cordelia knows the answer by heart, you seem to be the only one not getting it." Gunn teases. Angel smiles apologetically.

"I know it's just... I don't wanna get her hopes up for a full life. I don't want her to be all happy and settled and then one day... boom." he explains.

"Boom?" Wesley asks walking into the room.

"Yeah, 'boom'" the vampire replies somewhat defensively.

"Angel, things will be fine, jeez. If you're so worried, why don't you go over everything yourself?" Gunn offers him the file. Angel shakes his head.

"No.. no I trust you. I believe you." he says. Everyone in the room nods in agreement. A beat of silence. "So are you sure..."

"Yes!" everyone echos

"Just checking, gosh." angel says walking out of the room.

--

"Got any threes?" Amanda asks Faith.

"Go fish." Faith mutters. Plucking a card form the deck, Amanda eyes Faith. "Got any sevens?" Faith asks not moving her eyes from the cards.

"Yeah, here." Amanda hands over her sevens. "You, OK?" she finally asks. Faith sighs and throws all her cards down.

"Yeah...no. I just wanna get outta here." she says shifting uncomfortably in her bed. Amanda straightens up in the chair she's taken and picks up the entire deck of cards shuffling them.

"Why don't you like hospitals?" she asks. Faith raises an eyebrow.

"You know anybody who _does_ like hospitals?" she asks. Amanda shakes her head.

"Well, no. But... you seem to loathe them. Why?" she asks. Faith sighs and shrugs.

"Same reason anybody else hates 'em. Too many bad memories." she says. "I've lost eight months of my life in one. I've lost people I care about in one. Same as anybody." she says. Amanda continues to eye her. "The smell of them... it's so wrong. It's like... it makes you not wanna be here, y'know? Then the doctors, those fuckers." she mutters. "I watched a group of doctors stop workin' on my Ma when they found out she didn't have insurance to cover the visit. She had a broken leg and when the stopped, it never healed right. I started takin' care of her after that, wasn't too long before she died though." Faith tells her.

"What'd she die of?" Amanda whispers, continuing to shuffle the cards.

"Uh... a head wound. She fell off her crutches and banged her head on the table." Faith explains. "Apparently alcohol isn't only bad for you're liver, it's bad for the blood too." she tries to joke but the sadness in her eyes betrays her.

"I'm sorry."

"It was years ago." Faith's response is automatic. An awkward silence falls over them, the only sound in the room is Amanda's shuffling cards. Finally, Faith breaks it. "Wanna go pick on Dr. Miles?" she asks. Amanda nods.

"Sure." they make their way out of the room.

--

Cordelia strode into Faith's hospital room buzzing with excitement. She was going to be the one to deliver the news that Faith was a free woman. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so excited she just knew she was. _Because, I'm helping someone who will hopefully be a friend one day, _she rationalizes. Nodding in agreement with her inner self, her smile drops at the empty bed that greets her. She sighs.

"Poor Dr. Miles." she mutters before turning out of the room and walking through the halls to find the two who are always in trouble.

--

"Shh, he's gonna hear us if ya don't stop gigglin'." Faith says nudging Amanda. Amanda straightens up and nods her head. She's focused on the task. The both look over the rail at the doctor whose smoking a cigarette. Faith raises a water balloon and prepares to drop it before another body steps in her way. "The hell?!" she hisses to Amanda. Leaning over, Amanda shrugs. They watch as the woman says a few things to the doctor before he goes back inside. The woman looks up. Cordelia smirks at the two and strides back into the hospital.

"Great, now we gotta get her too." Amanda mutters. Faith nods.

"Hm, she knows too much." she says. Gathering their water balloons, they toss them all over without a second glance until they hear someone shriek. Glancing over, they smile at a nurse who is now soaking. They wave at her but when she looks up with a deadly glare, they run back inside.

--

"....can be released tomorrow morning. Her bones are healing nicely and there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. However, I will have to request that you take it easy for a while. No heavy lifting, no straining yourself. If you feel dizzy, sit down and breath deeply. Deal?" Dr. Miles looks from Cordelia to Faith. Faith nods happily. At this point she'd agree to almost anything to get out of the hospital.

"Is there anything else we should worry about doctor?" Cordelia asks.

"No, nothing else." Dr. Miles smiles at Faith, "Well my little hell patient, it's been fun. Bye." he says striding from the room. Cordelia turns to glare at Amanda and Faith,

"Will you two at least try to act your ages?" she asks. Faith shrugs.

"Could but where's the fun in that?" she asks just to be annoying. Cordelia closes her eyes and counts backwards from ten.

"Angel has gotten your record cleared up. When you get outta here tomorrow, we'll be going to your new apartment. I'll live across the hall from you. Since the doctor said no straining," she looks pointedly at Faith before turning to Amanda, "I think it might be best if she waited a while to train you. Like a week." she says.

"Nah, I'm good Cor. I can train the runt." Faith says knocking a fist to Amanda's shoulder.

"Ohh, the pain! The agony! Etcetera Etcetera Amanda starts with the theatrics she learned from Andrew during their stay in the Summers home.

"I don't think it's such a good idea." Cordelia tries again.

"Trust me, it'll be fine." Faith says calmly. She didn't like being told what to do.

"And if you get hurt? Then what?" Cordelia asks aggravated.

"Look, just cos some doctor says I shouldn't strain doesn't mean I can't train the rugrat. It was a suggestion Cor, not an order." Faith snaps.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be in your discharge papers." Cordelia snaps back.

"That's all fine and well but I know my body better than any doctor could and I know I can train her." Faith says getting annoyed with the slightly taller woman.

"Fine, go ahead and train her. When you're right back in here, don't say I didn't warn you." Cordelia says gathering her stuff and leaving the room. After the door clicks shut behind her, Amanda turns to Faith, hesitant look on her face.

"Faith..." she starts.

"I can handle it!" Faith snaps at the younger woman. _Nobody can tell me what my body can't handle _


	9. Chapter 9

Been a minute, huh guys? Sorry about that.

* * *

Faith was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed impatiently. She was feeling more than a little embarrassed and just wanted to get her arm checked out. _Damn weights weren't that heavy last month... _she thinks. She turns and glares at Cordelia whose wearing a triumphant smile still.

"Are you ok, Faith?" Cordelia asks but her tone is mocking Faith.

"Why are you even here?" Faith snaps. Cordelia's smile drops to confusion. She knew Faith had to be angry, and little embarrassed, but something else was up.

"Really, are you alright?" she asks genuinely concerned. She tries to think back but nothing in particular is standing in her mind on what could have Faith even more on edge.

"I'll be better if you leave." Faith says angrily. Cordelia clinches her jaw and stands to leave.

"Excuse me for caring how you're doing. I'll make sure not too next time you hurt yourself." she snaps before walking towards the door.

"What makes you so sure there's gonna be a next time?" Faith asks. She doesn't deal with embarrassment well. Cordelia turns to glare at her.

"Because you always screw up!" Cordelia says before she can stop herself. She sees the hurt flash in Faith's eyes but Faith masks it quickly.

"Whatever." Faith mutters. Cordelia starts,

"Wait, I'm sorry, Faith I ju-" she tries to apologize.

"Weren't you leaving?" Faith asks her annoyed. Cordelia stands there a few long moments before leaving the room. She bumps into Amanda and Angel on her way out of the hospital.

"Cordy?" Angel questions confused and concerned. The look on her face tells him there's been a clash of the brunettes again and he's sure it's only going to continue to happen.

"Hey Angel. Faith's still in the exam room waiting." she says sadly before walking away. Angel and Amanda share confused looks before making their way to the exam rooms. Finding all of them empty with the doors open, they both sigh.

"So, I look upstairs and you check the streets in back?" Angel asks Amanda. The young slayer nods.

--

Faith was feeling hurt but her now broken arm had nothing to do with it. _She probably really believes that too. Why wouldn't she? She's right. _She thinks to herself. She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way but she can't help it. She always thought she was a screw up and hearing confirmation that people around her think it too wasn't easy. After Cordelia had left, Faith had waited for a few minutes before easing from the room herself. She was now sitting on the roof of the hospital, cigarette between her lips and wind blowing softly around her.

"Hey." she hears from her right. Turning her head, her eyes settle on the lady from the other day.

"Hey uh..." she starts only to forget the woman's name.

"Annie." she supplies. Faith nods.

"Sup?" she asks. Annie shrugs.

"Nothin'. Wonderin what you doin' up here? I heard you were released." she says. Faith cuts her eyes to the woman. "Doc was grinnin' so hard my jaw started to hurt. Naturally I asked what was up." she says. Faith nods.

"Naturally." she parroted. "Fucked up my arm. What you still doin here?" She replies. Annie shrugs again before motioning to the spot next to Faith, silently asking to sit. Faith nods her agreement.

"Doc's worried about me. Somethin about bein in critical condition days ago and he's not ready to let me go just yet cos somethin' could go wrong. I keep tellin' him I'm fine." she replies.

"A few days ago? You look pretty good for somebody who was critical." Faith replies. Annie nods.

"Yeah, shocked me too! I was just layin in the hospital, in all kinds of pain and then, it stepped. It's more like a dull throb nowadays then anything." Annie says honestly. "Like some kinda medical mystery or somethin'." she adds. She and Faith sit in a companionable silence for several long minutes. "Doc's probably lookin' for me so I'm just gonna head back in." Annie finally says. Faith nods.

"Yeah, me too. Gotta get this arm fixed up." she says. Annie nods and the two make their way inside. Neither of them notice Angel watching from a distance with a curious expression on his features.

--

"I thought we discussed taking it easy." Dr. Miles says in exasperation. Faith nods her head sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry, Doc." She replies. He shakes his head and continues to put the cast on her arm.

"Yeah, yeah. Is there someone here to take you home?" he asks. She shrugs.

"Not too sure there, Doc." she replies honestly. _I'm pretty sure Cor left and the runt is with Fang. _She thinks.

"What about your friend Cordelia? Didn't she bring you in?" he asks looking at her worriedly. She nods.

"Yeah, but I ticked her off pretty good. Don't think she stuck around. I wouldn't'a." she replies shrugging. Examining her forest green cast, she swings her arm. "Ow." she says.

"That's gonna hurt for a while. Look, I'm gonna have to recommend you stay here if there's No one to make sure you get home safely. I care about my patients, Faith, and I don't think it's safe to be walking around at night." he says seriously. She nods, taking the information.

"Thanks for the worry, Doc, but I'll be fine. I'm a big girl and all. 'Sides, I only live a few blocks from here." she replies. He eyes her for a few seconds.

"Only if you're sure...." he starts. She nods.

"I'm sure." she replies.

"Give this to the nurse and she'll give you your prescription. You can get it filled at almost any pharmacy. Do you need me to call you a cab maybe?" he asks after handing her the paper. She shakes her head.

"Nah, I'm good." she says hopping down and towards the door. "Uh.. Thanks Doc." she says before shuffling from the room. She misses Dr. Miles' fond smile. _That kid is something else... _he thinks.

--

Cordelia waits for what feels like hours downstairs in the main lobby. _This is taking forever! _After Angel had come back down, he took Amanda back to the apartment before it got too late. He figured Faith and Cordelia needed to talk and didn't want the young woman walking alone. She may be a slayer, but she's also a teenaged girl. He'd said. Finally, she saw Faith walking off the elevator already picking at her cast. She rolled her eyes. _ So not surprising. _She thought. She had to clear her throat to get Faith's attention. Faith was staring at her before moving to her.

"Look, C, I-" Faith starts. _Di really wouldn't be happy with me so I'm gonna try to like... apologize. _She thinks.

"I'm sorry about what I said Faith. I didn't mean it and it was out of line." Cordelia cuts her off. Faith shrugs.

"S'all good, Queenie. I was pushin' your buttons." she says. _Close enough. _She thinks. Cordelia shakes her head.

"It's not all good but... I'm sorry. Now, lets leave it at that and get you home." she says. Not feeling like arguing but not really wanting to ride with Cordelia either, Faith hesitates. "I've got a peace offering." Cordelia throws out. Faith's eyebrow raises on its own.

"Apple pie?" she asks. She does love her pie now....

"And a double cheese burger. Extra ketchup..." Cordelia prompts. Faith scratches her neck.

"Well..." she starts going back to messing with her cast.

"And if you stop messing with that, I just might find some tater tots in there...." Cordelia bribes. Faith is bought.

"Lets go then, C." Faith says happily before leaving Cordelia standing there smiling. While they're in the car, Faith suddenly hands Cordelia half of the slice of pie. She used her fork to cut it before eating. "Thanks for not leavin' me here." she says quietly. Cordelia nods, sort of touched by the sentiment behind the pie.

"You're welcome." she responds. The car ride is silent.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the long wait guys! Here's the latest chapter!

* * *

Cordelia sighs as she hears another thump and a groan followed by chuckling. She rolls her eyes and tosses her magazine she wasn't paying attention too before moving to the workout room in Faith's apartment. Moving towards the room, she cautiously peaks inside only to be hit in the head with a foam ball that bounces helplessly before hitting the floor. Glaring down at the blue object, she counts backwards from ten to calm her temper before dealing with 'the children' as she had now named them.

"What are you two doing?" she asks finally. She glances up to see Amanda on the floor and Faith in front of the window looking as if she were holding in a laugh.

"I slipped ducking those foam balls." Amanda pouts. Cordelia raises an eyebrow.

"Alright, Squirt, you've been dodgin' for two hours, go break and get somethin to eat. Later we'll work on somethin else." Faith says with a soft smile in Amanda's direction. Cordelia watches the two interact curiously.

"But I can keep going!" Amanda insists. "I only slipped three times today!" she adds. Faith had been training her for a week now and they tasks although small, were all the older woman could handle. They were more for the benefit of working on Amanda's reflexes than actual training anyway. Faith shakes her head.

"We'll work later. Go eat, kid." Faith says, her tone leaving no room for argument. Cordelia watches as Amanda grumbles but listens and Faith starts picking up around the room. "What's up, Cor?" Faith asks throwing all foam balls into a bin. She turns to the older brunette who just shakes her head as if to clear it.

"Nothing. I just wa-" she's cut off by the sound of Faith's home phone ringing. Faith frowns in confusion but moves out of the room to answer.

"Hello?.... Hey, Fang, what's the what?.... Alright.... You didn't have to tell me.... Thanks. Bye." she says hanging up. Cordelia eyes her before Faith can answer. "Fang says the Scoobs are movin'. They're all gonna separate and stuff and he wanted to let me know." she says. Cordelia nods, not really caring.

"Well then.... pizza for dinner?" she asks. Faith smiles. _She read my stomach..._

_--_

"So, school's comin' back quick, Runt, happy to be back in?" Faith asks around her pepperoni pizza.

"Well, not really. I mean, I was so used to not havin' ta go." is Amanda's muffled reply.

"Really, do you two have any home training?" Cordelia asks the two talking with their mouths full.

"Mom was too drunk to teach me." Faith mutters.

"I take after Faith." Amanda says. Cordelia rolls her eyes.

"Anyway, you're what, grade ten, eleven?" Faith asks sounding genuinely interested in her young charges life.

"Well, ten really. Right before all of this crap with the first started happening, my watcher took me out like the second week of tenth grade." Amanda answers. Faith nods.

"So, we need anything? Paper? Pencils? Leather?" Faith ticks off.

"Oh no, we are not buying her leather. Just because you like it, doesn't mean she should wear it." Cordelia pipes in.

"I wear it cos I look damn good in it." Faith says back with a conceited smirk.

"Your modesty amuses me." Cordelia says dryly. Faith shrugs with a grin.

"Just the basics or whatever, but don't we need to focus on other stuff? I mean, it's well over a month away." Amanda says. Faith shrugs.

"Just goin' for conversation." she says. Amanda nods.

"You'll... you'll take me shopping, right?" she asks shyly. Faith smiles.

"Sure Munchkin." Faith says.

"I'm sure she meant me." Cordelia says. Faith scoffs.

"Well, actually, I meant both of you." Amanda pipes up. Cordelia and Faith roll their eyes.

--

Angel walks slowly down the street, following the woman whose just been released form the hospital. He'd seen her once before around Faith and there was something about her that drew her. He follows her to an apartment building and silently slips in behind her. He follows her until he can get her apartment number without being noticed.

--

Faith jumps on the cart as it rolls down the aisle in the grocery store. She pauses in the middle of the aisle before looking around. Making sure Cordelia was nowhere in sight, she grabs an armful of Fruit Roll-ups and drops them in her cart. Checking the aisle again, she grabs several boxes of Gushers as well. Whistling, she strolls away, getting a running start before riding again. She stops to turn the corner and almost collides with a smug looking Cordelia.

"Not into kids stuff, huh?" Cordelia asks. Faith just snorts and looks away.

"They're for the Half-Pint." she insists. Cordelia nods with a small smile.

"Whatever." she says. The two eye each other before walking on.

--

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?!" Amanda asks excitedly. The blond she's speaking too blinks before his face lights up.

"Amanda!" he squeals. Faith whips around the corner, ready to fight wielding a can of Pringles.

"Andy?" she asks with a blink. Andrew whirls.

"Faith! You're okay!" he says rushing to hug her.

"And you're touching me, why?" she asks trying to get loose.

"Uh, sorry I just.. uh, my bad." he says with a sheepish smile. Faith offers an uncomfortable grin. The three stand awkwardly for long moments.

"So, you're not with the scoobs?" Faith asks. Andrew shakes his head sadly.

"Nah, I was never uh, one of them." he says with a sad grin. Faith nods.

"Yeah, I know how ya feel." she whispers.


	11. Chapter 11

Wonderful people it has been far too long! I can't beleive i went such a long time without updating but i will try not to do it again! i hope you are still reading this and thank you so much if you are! A very short chapter until i can get back into the swing of the story. Sorry again for the wait!

* * *

Cordelia walks around the corner oblivious to the three awkward people.

"Alright, we have Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, and chocolate milk. Now we need regular milk, Lucky Charms a- Andrew, hi." she stops to blink. The young man waves sheepishly at her.

"H-hey." he says shyly. They all stand for a few more minutes.

"Well, I'm glad this isn't awkward." Amanda says. Faith rolls her eyes.

--

Angel sighs as his search again comes up empty. He's not getting any information on this mysterious woman but he feels as if he should.

"Maybe I'm completely wrong about this." he says to himself. He leans back in his chair, letting out an unneeded sigh.

"How's the search comin'?" Gunn asks walking into his office. Angel shakes his head at the young man.

"Nothing." he answers. "All of my resources turn up absolutely nothing about this woman." he says sounding frustrated. Gunn looks thoughtful.

"Maybe, instead of checking for her, you should look into somebody else." he offers. At Angel's confused look, he elaborates. "Well, maybe you should look into whoever you think she's connected to." he says. Angel nods, knowing Gunn probably has an idea of what's going on.

"So you think... I may turn up some leads that way?" he asks just to be sure. Gunn nods and tosses a book down on to Angel's desk as he gets up.

"You'll figure it out." Gunn says with a hopeful grin. Angel taps his chin as he gets back to work.

--

"So what are you doing here?" Cordelia asks Andrew. His face brightens as he turns to his basket.

"Oh! I'm just doing some shoppin' for the home. I've got a turkey and all the fixings for this wo-" Cordelia cuts him off.

"Uh," she pauses not knowing what to say to stop him. Andrew smiles to show he understands.

"I know, you don't really wanna know." he says. "I'm just preparing dinner for my first night in my new apartment." he says. Faith raises an interested eyebrow and reaches over to grab the box of fruit roll ups out of her cart but Cordelia swats her hand away.

"Really? Where ya crashin'?" she asks. Andrew reaches into his pocket and reads his address to them causing Faith to pause.

"Oh my goodness! You're our neighbor!" Amanda says excitedly. "We literally live right over you." she practically squeals. Faith can't help but idly think that she seems to be channeling Dawn at that moment. Andrew seems to grow excited as well and Faith suddenly feels like she isn't what to do in the moment.

"Maybe I could cook for us all tonight!" he suggests happily. Amanda immediately agrees and turns to Faith for confirmation. Nodding because she doesn't see a reason not too, Faith agrees as well. Andrew and Amanda seem to go off in their own little world of talking about whatever as Faith and Cordelia remain standing at the end of the aisle.

"I have no idea what just happened." Faith whispers. Cordelia scoffs.

"Amanda just agreed for us to have dinner with Andrew." she says. Faith blinks at her and looks confused.

"I still have no idea what just happened." she says. Cordelia almost looked sympathetic.

"You just agreed to put all the Gushers back." she says. Faith snorts.

"No way, C." Faith responds as she hops on the back of her cart and rolls down the aisle. Cordelia follows with a badly hidden smile.

--

Angel leans closer to his computer screen as records show up. His contact had followed through with speedy results as promised. He reads through them, his brow furrowing more and more as he just comes up with more questions.

"Whoever hid this did a damn good job." he whispers to himself. He glances out at the night sky and decides its time to take a break.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everyone! I have not forgotten any of my stories, I just haven't been in the hang of writing but I'm slowly but surely getting back there. I hope this story still has your interest, have a good one!

* * *

Later that night, Faith finds herself sitting between Andrew and Amanda as the two go at it. To be honest, she couldn't tell you what they were on about just that they were passionate about it. Cordelia rolls her eyes as they continue to bicker.

"Faith, help me clean up?" she offers Faith and out and she gladly takes it. She can't stand to be there as the argument escalates. She idly wonders if she should try and save and Andrew but when he puts his hands on his hips and rolls his neck, she figures it'll be a fair fight.

"What the hell are they on about?" Faith asks softly once they're out of earshot. Cordelia rolls her eyes,

"Don't know. Don't find it very fascinating." she responds watching Faith who is watching Amanda. "You seem calm." she comments. Faith's lip turns to a half smile,

"I sorta am." she shrugs a little. Cordelia nods.

"Its nice to see." she says. Faith tilts her head at her but doesn't speak.

–

Angel makes his way back inside ready to continue on with his search to find this mysterious woman. Since he's just had a good patrol, something inside him is settled so he isn't too worried but he really just wants to know. Maybe he's being nosy but oh well, he's started so he can't very well stop now.

"Angel, a word?" Wesley says when he enters. Angel nods and moves over to him, wondering what was up.

"What's going on, Wes?" he asks. Wesley shakes his head,

"Nothing going on, actually. I just took notice to the fact that you are working on a new project it seems. Would you like some assistance?" he offers. Angel thinks it over.

"It could be helpful. What do you have?" he asks curiously. Wesley leads him over to the computer and logs into his old Counsel account. "Faith Lehane, born December Fourteen to Patrick Lehane and Annabelle Myers. Adopted at age four by her aunt and raised by her. Her aunt was an alcoholic and died when Faith was between ten and twelve." he says quickly. Angel blinks,

"Faith's adopted?" he asks. Wesley nods,

"It seems whomever you're searching for, I may have seen your computer, is her biological mother." he says. Angel lets out an unneeded breathe,

"Do we tell her?" he asks.

–

Faith watches amused as Amanda and Andrew belt out the lyrics to some song on the radio. They'd settled their little squabble and were best friends again, she didn't understand it but saw no need to question it.

"Those two are a hoot." she says taking a sip of her root beer and glancing at Cordelia.

"That they are." Cordelia comments. Faith glances at her again,

"You alright, Cor?" she asks. Cordelia shrugs,

"I think so. It's just...this is...better than I thought it'd be." she admits. Faith snorts,

"What, you thought I was some kind of ass that caused constant bickering?" she asks. When Cordelia doesn't answer, her smile drops. "You thought I was a complete jack-ass." she comments. Cordelia bites her lip,

"It's just...I realize I don't really know much about you so..yes. I assumed you were an ass." Faith nods slowly.

"You know what they say about assuming things." she comments then sighs. "Look, I'm not gonna give you this big speech about how I've changed and all that. We both know I'm workin' on it, but I will tell you I'm not a total bitch unless I go undefined amounts of time without sex." she says honestly. Cordelia blinks,  
"I'll uh...keep that in mind?" she offers. Faith nods and stands,

"Alright, Squirt, time to get goin to bed. You've got early practice and me and Cor have filled our quota for puttin' up with each other." she says with a clap. Andrew leads them out with a pout but a promise to hang again soon, they all lived in the same building after all. Faith drops Cordelia off at her own apartment and leads Amanda into their shared one.

"You have fun tonight?" Amanda asks stopping outside her bedroom door. Faith nods, surprised she means it.

"I did. Who'da thought just hangin' was fun?" she asks. Amanda smiles sadly,

"Anyone whose had people to just hang with." she whispers leaving Faith alone with her thoughts. For the first time since she became a complete human, Faith sleeps through the night.


	13. Chapter 13

**So, I know this chapter seems a bit out of place and all over the place. Believe it or not, it was a bit intentional though I do feel as if I've kind of lost Cordelia a bit. On the other note, I just want to remind you all that Cordelia isn't exactly known for...coddling or babying anyone. Everyone in this story is going through some readjustment so it's bound to be a bit awkward at some point. Please, don't hate any characters but feel free to point out any flaws you find. I'm working on this story again and hopefully will get an update out next Sunday. On to the chapter!**

* * *

Two weeks later, Faith sighs flipping to yet another page. She chances a glance up across her counter and tilts her head.

"What?" she asks Cordelia who seems to be studying her. Cordelia shakes her head, smiling a little.

"Nothing." She says. Over the past two weeks, the two had learned to get along with one another without pissing the other off too much. Faith had a bit of a smart mouth and Cordelia didn't believe in sparing one's feelings, so things tended to get a bit tense but they managed.

"No, really, what?" Faith asks folding the paper. Cordelia smiles a little, looking down at her magazine and shrugs a shoulder.

"Well," she starts. "It's just a bit weird seeing you like this." She says finally. Faith glances down at her clothes with a frown.

"I knew I wore a lot of leather but I'm sure I wore jeans at least once…" she said self-consciously. Cordelia chuckles a little, shaking her head in amusement.

"No, I meant so…serious." She says honestly. "You seem like a regular person now, it's a far cry from being a sex obsessed psychopathic teenager with a chip on her shoulder." She explains. Faith's eyebrows raise a little but she nods.

"Uh, thanks?" she asks. Cordelia nods, going back to her magazine before closing it.

"So, what have you found?" she asks. Faith puffs her cheeks out.

"Nothing." She says. Cordelia seems to think it over before her eyes light up.

"Well, come with me." She says.

* * *

Angel leans back at his desk, looking over the file of Annie Chamberlain. There was definitely a bit of a resemblance between her and Faith. The eyes, the smile, the hair even. But it didn't feel right. He heard from Faith herself that her mother was dead, so what did this mean? Was Faith adopted at a young age? Was this woman really even her mother or was there something else entirely. He looks down at the picture, smiling a little wondering if he was looking at Faith in twenty five years.

* * *

"Cordelia!" Faith snaps almost three and a half hours later. Cordelia pauses, turning to look at her head on.

"What?" she asks crossing her arms.

"We've been all over this area, on foot I might add, and I'm freakin' tired. Can we stop for five minutes?" she asks. They'd spent the past few hours job hunting the old fashioned way; walking in and inquiring. And shopping.

"Right," Cordelia cringes. "Sometimes I forget that you're…well…human like me." She says. Faith snorts and sits down with the bags she's holding.

"You're not human, I don't know what you are." She says under her breath. Cordelia looks hurt. "I just mean that I think you could walk around for days on end without stoppin' if it meant you got to shop the entire time." Faith explains, feeling guilty. Then she frowns; she wasn't used to feeling guilty just for hurting someone's feelings.

"Well, it is a good form of exercise." She reasons sitting beside Faith. So far, only three places seemed promising except for the fact that Faith would have to deal with rude customers through the day. Faith insisted that she didn't care but Cordelia felt bad on her behalf; she didn't think she had the patience. "Stay here, I'm going to go get you something to eat." She says standing back up. Faith reaches into her pocket, grabbing her wallet.

"Thanks," she says. Cordelia shakes her head and makes her way across the street, leaving Faith watching behind her with a slight sigh.

* * *

That evening, after Andrew serves them up pasta with some kind of homemade sauce he'd Googled, he and Faith stand side by side doing the dishes. He keeps glancing in her direction.

"What?" she finally asks. He shakes his head before biting his lip.

"Nothing, nothing." He says quickly. Finally, he sighs, wondering what he has to lose. "I'm just… I'm looking for…." He waves his hands. Faith puts the half washed plate she'd been holding back into the sink.

"For what?" she asks, a slight edge creeping into her voice. He shrugs.

"Do you know who you remind me of?" he asks suddenly. Faith sighs, wondering what in the heck he was going to go on about now.

"Who? Rogue?" she asks. He laughs, shaking his head.

"Funny, and oddly close, but no." he says. He waves his hand in a flourish as he turns to face her. "You remind me of Magneto." He says resting one hand on his hips. Faith raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Come again?" she asks. He nods his head sagely.

"Oh, yes." He says. His eyes light up, "You love, loved…" he corrects quickly. "Being a slayer. You realized what kind of power that held, how you could do things no mere mortal could even comprehend." He says excitedly. Faith clears her throat uncomfortable.

"But he was a psy- wait, never mind, I see the comparison." She says wryly.

"No, I don't think you do." He says gently. "You see, while Magneto was well aware of the fact, in his own world, that Mutants were the superior race, much better than humans; it's because he needed that power. It made him feel…alive and while he didn't go about showing it the best way, I can certainly see the appeal." He says thoughtfully. "He's done some horrible things in his quest for respect, but he knows this. There's a look in his eyes, as if he's aware of what he's doing but doesn't know another way. He just wants someone to see him – to understand him really." He says. Faith glares and faces him before taking a threatening step toward him.

"I'm not asking you to psychoanalyze me." She growls. He swallows nervously but stands his ground.

"I'm just saying…there's more to you than others let on." He whispers. "I heard stories, about how you'd done these terrible horrible things and I quite honestly imagined you were a monster." He says honestly. "But then, that night when-" he stops to clear his throat. "I think-" she cuts him off angrily.

"Listen, Pretty Boy, I really don't give a damn what you think." She says very aware of Amanda and Cordelia in the living room. "Actually, what you think doesn't matter to me so you can keep whatever little fantasy person you've cooked up stored in that sad little head of yours." She adds angrily. Andrew swallows, blinking a few times at the stinging in his eyes. Faith turns to walk away but he can't help himself.

"Seems like my head isn't the only one that's sad." He calls out. Faith spins back and corners him quicker than he'd imagined. He can't help the nervous gulp.

"Don't push me…" she says. He stares at her, honestly a little afraid but feeling safe knowing Amanda was just in the next room.

"Why? Want to hurt me?" he asks, his voice wavering. He sees something flash in her eyes and decides to run with it. "Or-or maybe you just want to attack me so Amanda comes in here to stop you." He says. Faith clinches her jaw.

"Hangin' with the Scoobs gave you balls." She comments, smiling seductively and leaning closer. He scoffs at her.

"You're barking up the wrong tree, sweetie." He says boldly. Then his eyes turn sad. "You've seen a lot of people…a lot of things die, right?" he asks switching gears. Faith feels uncomfortable; out of control and backs away.

"Yeah, so?" she asks. He clears his throat nervously.

"Have you ever…have you ever witnessed someone trying to make it happen?" he asks. Her eyes widen in recognition and she throws the closest thing to her past his head. Unfortunately for him, it happened to be a steak knife that was still sitting on the table. He squeaks, shivering when he realizes it was just a few inches away. Amanda comes in, her eyes widening and turning to Faith angrily.

"What's going on?" she asks. Faith watches Andrew and he just swallows.

"Bug." He says pointing. "There was a…a bug crawling up the wall." He lies unconvincingly. Faith doesn't speak; instead she turns on her heels and marches from the apartment.

* * *

Faith walks back into her apartment some time later, careful to close the door quietly and holding the case of beer tightly.

"Are you really that messed up in the head?" she hears. She almost drops her beer but manages to hold in her surprise considerably well.

"What are you doin' in my apartment, Cordy?" she asks. Cordelia scoffs, standing up and walking over to her.

"Keeping an eye on Amanda." She says shrugging. "And making sure you made it back before the girl went into cardiac arrest worrying about your ass." She adds. Faith rolls her eyes, pushing past Cordelia and into the kitchen. She sits her beer on the table and flicks the light on; almost flinching when she notices the knife is still in the wall. She moves to remove it but Cordelia's voice stops her. "You're like, half a bad comment away from slipping back into what you used to be." She comments idly. Faith turns slowly, looking at Cordelia angrily.

"Don't talk about shit you know nothin' about." Cordelia just looks her in the eye.

"Yunno, he's terrified now." She says casually. Faith shrugs carelessly.

"Good, he should be. It'll teach him to stay outta my business." She says with a smirk. Cordelia just smirks back.

"Oh, not of you. For you." She explains. Faith just looks at her. "After you left, he told us about that night." She says, her smirk growing when Faith looks away. "Oh, the big bad Faith doesn't wanna talk about it, huh?" she taunts.

"Shut up." Faith says. Cordelia just chuckles, walking closer to Faith slowly.

"Or what? Gonna try to scare me too?" she asks. Faith stands there, watching her as Cordelia began to circle her. Cordelia finally stops in front of her, her stance and her eyes softening. "You haven't been sleeping." She comments softly.

"What?" Faith asks, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You have bags so big under your eyes they probably wouldn't pass customs at any airport." She says holding up a finger. "Yesterday morning when I got here with breakfast, you were already sitting up and it was only four am."

"I was waiting for the kid."

"You look like a zombie. No amount of make-up or concealer could cover that." She says. Faith sighs, looking away then down at the steak knife.

"He okay?" she asks finally. Cordelia is silent until Faith meets her eyes.

"Go down stairs and find out." She says. Faith opens her mouth but Cordelia just walks back to the living room. Faith groans internally; the last thing she wanted to do was face someone else she'd fucked over.


	14. Chapter 14

**So this is an early update. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get one out on Sunday because apparently I'm spending the entire day being productive. We'll see how that works, lol. Anyway, thank you guys for the continued support; it means more to me than you know! **

* * *

Three days later, Faith sniffles and takes another swig of her beer. Her eyes are red and her face is blotchy, a clear indication she'd been crying. She still hasn't gone to talk to Andrew about that night and really doesn't plan on it. She's just thankful that Cordelia and Amanda decided to take a 'girl's day' and leave her the hell alone. As she swallows down the rest of her beer, she looks over and rolls her eyes realizing that she's just finished off her last one. Finally, she stands and moves to the living room, looking out of the large window down at the city. The sun is shining brightly and it's bothering the hell out of her but she can't help but watch as people walk past with smiles.

* * *

Angel tosses the file folder down onto his desk, wishing he could find out some more information. There was nothing in Faith's file to indicate the name of her biological mother. Just that she was adopted when she was two by her father's wife. Hell, he couldn't even find Faith's father, let alone his supposedly deceased wife.

"Faith really is a tumbling weed." He mutters to himself. He almost smiles in relief when his phone rings. "Angel Investigations." He answers quickly. He hears shallow breathing on the other end.

"Angel I…. I'm losin' it man." He hears finally. His smile fades.

"Where are you?" he asks and stands before Faith can even finish the address. "I'm on my way."

* * *

An hour later, Angel pulls into the parking garage of Faith's apartment building and parks in the middle. When he'd been choosing an apartment for Faith, he didn't really think about picking one with a covered garage. Now he's glad that he did. It doesn't take him long to make it from the ground level to her apartment and knock. When she opens the door and sad brown eyes meet his, he feels his un-beating heart break.

* * *

"I don't know what to do anymore." Faith says after ten minutes of sitting in silence. "I don't… I don't know who I am." Angel reaches a hand out across the table.

"You're Faith." He says plainly. "You've just lost a big part of you but there's more to you than that. You were more than a slayer." He tells her wisely. She snorts.

"Yeah, right." She says wiping at her face. "It's all I was good at and I even fucked that up." she says bitterly. He shakes his head, squeezing her hand.

"But you tried making it right. You can still find your redemption, Faith." He says. She laughs but it sounds hollow.

"And how am I gonna do that? By lookin' over my shoulder when I travel at night wonderin' if the guy who keeps eyein' me is a vampire or a human? Or maybe I can use all of my brilliant job skills…oh wait, I don't have any." She says sarcastically. "The only thing my resume would say is that I dropped outta school, I became a slayer then a henchman then a killer. No one wants to hire that, Angel." She says firmly. Angel watches her, trying to gauge her.

"Faith you ca-"

"The other night, I threw a knife at Andrew's head." She says suddenly. He doesn't show his surprise. "I don't think I'm cut out for this redemption thing. Maybe I shoulda went back to prison." She mutters disgustedly.

"And what good would you do in there?" he asks almost angrily.

"The same good I'm doing out here; none!" she snaps. "I'm not doing anything but waking up, looking for a job and sleeping. Even that isn't an everyday thing!" she stands and paces.

"What about Amanda?" he asks,

"What about the kid?" she responds eying him.

"What are you doing with her?" he continues on. She shrugs.

"Nothin' big. Just workin' on her reflexes and all that shit." She says offhandedly.

"You're helping her with something she didn't want." He corrects. "Faith, whether you realize it or not, she looks up to you. I could see that when you two were about to leave; you're a hero to her." he says patiently. Faith scoffs.

"Kid's got some real issues if I'm a hero." She says bitterly. Angel just smiles.

"You look up to me, don't you?" he asks curiously.

"Yeah, you've got a few inches on me." She says confusedly. He actually chuckles.

"No, I mean," he trails off waving a hand. "In general, you respect what I do and you've said you wish you could be like me one day." He reminds her. She nods, not sure what this has to do with anything. "Why?" he asks.

"Because you're one of the good guys." She says shrugging.

"And so are you." He reminds her.

"But-"

"You're human, Faith. You've made some really big mistakes but you want to do better. You want to make up for them and you're the first person to admit you're not the best role model." He explains.

"Yeah, so?" she asks, huffing.

"That's what makes you a hero to her; that humanity." He says softly. "Buffy is a hero to a lot of people because she saves them. You're a hero to her because you want to save yourself." He says standing. He turns to leave but her small voice stops him.

"So what should I do?" she asks. He smiles to himself and glances over his shoulder at her.

"Find your skills and use them to your advantage. You may not be a slayer, but you are a fighter." He says and breezes from the apartment. Faith leans against the counter, her eyebrow furrowed in concentration.

* * *

Faith knocks on the door and waits nervously; she had to get this out of her system. When the door finally opens and reveals a surprised Andrew, she rushes through her apology.

"I'm really fucked up, yunno? I'm unstable, always have been and I doubt it it'll change. But what I did…I won't… I promise never to do somethin' like that again." She says frustrated. "I mean, sure, I'm gonna scare the shit outta ya from time to time but I'm not gonna… I won't try to kill you." She says rubbing her hand against the back of her neck. Andrew watches her silently and she starts to fidget in discomfort. He turns back into his apartment but leaves the door open. Faith stands there for a few seconds before her shoulders droop and she turns to leave.

"Do you prefer periwinkle or lavender?" she hears his voice ask. She turns back around, looking at him in confusion as he holds up two shirts. She looks between them and shrugs.

"They look the same." She says. He scoffs.

"I have so much to teach you, young Faith." He says before waving a hand. "Well, come on in; I want to show you something I built." He says his eyes lighting up with excitement. Faith follows, confused and a little worried. What had that sick little man been building?

* * *

As Andrew explained how his mini-tower worked, Faith contemplated what Angel had said. Use her skills? What skills?

"Faith, are you listening?" Andrew huffs. Faith shakes her head.

"Not really." She admits. He glares at her, his hands on his hips.

"Well I guess you don't want to know how I managed to get onto the police frequency without getting caught." He sniffs a little, clearly insulted. Faith opened her mouth then frowned.

"How'd you get good at that?" she asks pointing to the walkie talkie. He shrugs a shoulder.

"It was just something I was good at growing up." he admits. "I used to take apart our appliances to make my own toys. It made my mother quite upset." He muses. Faith snorts.

"I can imagine so." She says dryly. She looks at her watch and stands. "I gotta go. The Half Pint and C are gonna be back soon." She says. She holds a hand out. "We good?" she asks. Andrew looks at her hand wearily.

"Friends." He says finally shaking her hand with a smile. Her face falls,

"Wait, what? No, I was ju-" she sighs at the dejected look on his face. "I don't know how to have friends, so good luck." She offers. He smiles brightly, he could work with that. She makes her way to the door but he remembers her walkie talkie.

"Oh, Faith! Think fast!" he says tossing it. Faith turns in time to catch it before it hits a wall. "That's for you and the other is for Amanda. Your apartment can be command central whenever she goes out fighting the undead ghouls of the night." He says. She nods, catching the second one he tosses to her.

"You're an odd ball, dude." She says chuckling and leaving.

* * *

"So you went to apologize?" Amanda asks later that night and Faith can't miss the hopeful tone in her voice. She sighs, looking down at her pasta.

"Yeah, Kid, I did." She says softly.

"Did he forgive you?"

"He invited me in to talk geek so, I'm assumin' yeah." Faith says. Amanda squeals and almost gets up to hug Faith. "The hell are you so happy for?" she asks. Amanda grins, ducking her head a little.

"It's just that…" she trails off. "Well, everyday you're proving people wrong." She says softly.

"How so?" Faith asks putting her fork down. Amana shrugs her shoulders uncomfortably.

"Well, it's just that when you first came back to Sunnydale, I would overhear Buffy and her friends talking. They didn't think you could change." She says softly. Faith closes her eyes; that hurt. "But everyday you're here and you make a mistake and then try to fix it, you're proving them wrong. And from what little time I spent with them I figured out the best way to annoy them is to prove them wrong about something." She adds with a grin. Faith looks at her before smirking. That kid was something else.


	15. Chapter 15

**Well, I managed to pull off this Sunday update! Thank you all for the support and comments on this, I really appreciate it. A special thanks too Ltlconf for keeping me on track with this story. You've given me ideas to work with and you've managed to help me stay in character! And also, xXAngel of FireXx cos you're a Fuzzy and Fuzzy is what makes me think :D! If you all have a tumblr, you could bounce over there to see a better version of the banner. The link should be on my profile page. **

* * *

Faith taps her pen against the notebook a few times before bringing the cap to her mouth and chewing in concentration. The past week had been spent doing the same thing; trying to find her skills. Unfortunately for her the answer was always the same. A blank piece of paper. It was really starting to annoy her; she had to be good at something, right?

"What are you doing?" Cordelia asks coming into the kitchen. Faith barely glances up.

"Nothin'." She mutters. Cordelia raises an eyebrow.

"Uh huh." She says. She sits across from Faith, crossing her arms on the island. "Nothing has you sitting here every day looking like you're trying to find Atlantis, then?" she asks. Faith rolls her eyes, looking up at Cordelia finally and stopping short. She doesn't mean too, but her eyes linger on the exposed cleavage a little longer than necessary before finally meeting Cordelia's eyes. She's happy to see that Cordelia really isn't paying her any attention.

"Why do you want to know?" she asks. Cordelia spares her a bored look.

"Maybe I can help." She says waving a hand.

"Why would you want too?" Faith asks confused. Cordelia shrugs.

"I'm tired of you brooding around. If I wanted to see someone brood, I would happily go back to working for Angel." She says pointedly. Faith looks at her for a few long minutes before sighing a little.

"I'm trying to figure out my skills." She mumbles. Cordelia raises an amused eyebrow but doesn't tease her.

"Well, let's start somewhere simple; what do you like doing?" she asks instead. Faiths shrugs,

"Slaying, fucking, eating, slaying." She ticks off. Cordelia glares a little. "Um, cooking is fun I guess." She adds sheepishly. Cordelia waves a hand.

"Well, write those down." She says. Faith gives her a funny look but listens. "Anything else?" she asks. Faith thinks.

"Art is pretty cool." She says ducking her head. Cordelia nods, motioning to the notebook again. "That's about it." she says. Cordelia blows out a breath.

"Well are you good at anything, besides slaying?" she asks. Faith nods.

"Well yeah, I only like cooking cos I'm pretty good at it." she says in a 'duh' tone. "And I can scribble and it usually looks like a picture so I guess I'm decent at art?" she offers. Cordelia thinks for a moment.

"Well there you have it." she says standing. Faith frowns.

"There I have what? Cor, I can't do any of those things without a diploma and training! Well, can't really train to be a slayer anyway so that doesn't matter." She mutters the last part. Cordelia smiles at her a little.

"Looks like you have a starting point then." She says and leaves the kitchen. Faith watches after her, frowning in confusion before looking back down at her list.

* * *

"Whatcha doing?" Andrew asks brightly looking over Faith's shoulder.

"Planning where to hide your body." She mutters not looking up. Andrew smiles in understanding.

"Oh, dear sweet Rogue, you seem a little testy." He tsks. She glares at him but goes back to the packet in front of her and runs a hand down her face.

"Where's Amanda?" she asks. He sits in a chair across from her and watches her.

"Cordelia grabbed her on our way up here and whisked her away on a no doubt fabulous shopping trip." He says wistfully.

"Why didn't they take you?" she questions next. He smiles wryly.

"Would you have taken me?" he asks. She pauses,

"Good point." She says. She looks at the packet and finally back at him. "Can I talk to you about somethin' and it stays between us?" she asks nervously. He nods, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Just call me Dr. Andrew and your secrets shall remain between us." He says waving a hand. She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose; what made her think this would be a good idea again?

* * *

Angel flips through the case file in front of him then back up at Wesley.

"Where'd you find this?" he asks quietly. Wesley shifts and looks away.

"I was her watcher, I've had it I had just misplaced it." he says. He finally meets Angel's eyes and the two share a look of understanding; they would leave it at that. He reads over a few lines and runs a hand down his face.

"Do you trust this?" he asks. Wesley pauses,

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I was planning on checking into things myself." He admits openly. Angel shakes his head,

"No, don't worry about it. She's doing fine right now; if she needs him she'll find him." He says. Wesley nods and leaves Angel's office, silently debating on if he should leave it alone or not.

* * *

"…gonna be hard." Faith groans to herself. Andrew smiles in sympathy.

"But don't you think it'll be worth it?" he asks. She shrugs a shoulder. "I think it will, in the long run." He says clapping a hand together. "But on another but somewhat related note, could you teach me a few moves? Maybe a way to disarm my opponent with my pinky?" he asks hopefully. Faith gives him a look that makes him shrink away. "Or maybe some basic defensive moves?" he squeaks. Faith rolls her eyes.

* * *

"Are you ever afraid of Faith?" Amanda asks as they stroll through the mall. Cordelia scoffs.

"I was never really afraid of her, I just didn't like her." she says openly.

"You hated her?" Amanda asks pulling a face. Cordelia thinks it over,

"She was never my favorite person, no." she says slowly. "In the beginning, I didn't have a reason to hate her, I just didn't really like or respect her." she says, her face thoughtful. Amanda nods, accepting this answer.

"And now?" she asks. Cordelia's eyebrow furrows.

"Now, I don't really mind her." she says. "She's actually not that bad." She admits almost pained. Amanda grins to herself; life was looking great.


	16. Chapter 16

**Well, it's Sunday which means it's time for that update! I'm working on an update for Renewed Hope, so thank you all for your patience and your continued support. I appreciate it more than I think any of you realize, so with that said, on to the chapter!**

* * *

"Wake up, Squirt; you've got early training." Faith peaks into Amanda's room the next morning. Amanda groans and rolls over, glaring at the clock that blinks back brightly _5:48 am. _She groans louder,

"Faith, I just got to sleep an hour ago." She whines. Faith snorts but leans against the open doorway.

"I told you to go to sleep early," she says moving into the room. She pokes Amanda in the shoulder and Amanda pouts and looks up at her.

"I know I was just excited." She says yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"About what?" Faith asks curiously. Amanda shrugs and looks at Faith's knee.

"About staying up with Cordelia and having girl-talk." She says quietly. "No offense, but I don't really get it much here and before … well Dawn was sweet but everything usually went back to stories about sneaking out to follow Buffy." She says with a shrug. Faith nods, wetting her lips and looking away.

"Look, Kid, I get that you're happy to have someone to share all your secrets or whatever with, but we really need to work on you sleeping at a decent hour." She says firmly. "Get up and get dressed. I'll feed ya before I work you and your little partner in crime into the ground." She says patting Amanda on the arm.

"Andrew's training with me? Why?" she asks, her eyes widening. Faith glances at her over her shoulder.

"Because if he asks me again, I'm going to kill him." She calls.

* * *

"Ugh, what the hell Road to Redemption, it's not even six am!" Cordelia glares walking into Faith's kitchen. Faith chuckles to herself, not even bothering to look up.

"Man up, Queen C, you're suffering with the runt since you kept her up." she says. "Besides, it's six thirty." She says plating some eggs.

"It's not my fault the girl doesn't know how to have a proper girl's night; she could have said she was tired." She mutters. Faith just shakes her head with a smile; she was in a great mood today and nothing would change it. She adds some bacon to the plate and turns to hand it to Cordelia; almost choking when she notices the tank-top Cordelia is in. her eyes linger on Cordelia's chest area for a few seconds before she recovers and hands her neighbor her plate.

"Angel ever teach you to fight?" she asks turning back to the stove. Cordelia doesn't speak at first but finally speaks up.

"He taught me a few moves, why?" she hears. Faith shrugs a solitary shoulder.

"Wanna help me with the two half-pints?" she asks. Cordelia doesn't answer verbally but makes a sound in the back of her throat. Faith takes it as a yes.

* * *

Cordelia watches Faith closely, paying attention to the patience that Faith uses when trying to help Andrew understand a few defensive moves. It's the first time since she met Faith that she's really just watched her while she was in her slaying element and she can't help but be surprised. She'd heard stories from the Buffy gang as well as Angel that Faith was a reckless fighter, that she was impulsive even. But watching her now, the calmness on her face and the genuine smile of amusement when Andrew huffs in annoyance she can't help but wonder what they were talking about.

"She said that prison was good for her." Amanda says flopping down beside Cordelia.

"What?" the older woman questions. Amanda waves her water bottle at the two,

"Faith," she explains. "I told her that I heard she was a sucky fighter and she said she used to be, but prison was good for her. It taught her patience and she even learned some skill in there." She says gulping the water happily. Cordelia 'hums' in her throat and nods, going back to studying Faith.

"Would it be better if you saw it happen a few times instead of trying to do it?" Faith asks finally. Andrew nods, just ready to sit down. Faith snorts,

"Alright, Runt, let's show Tinkerbel-"

"I'll do it." Cordelia volunteers. Faith raises an eyebrow,

"You?" she asks, her tone amused. Cordelia huffs and waves a hand.

"Uh, hello, worked with a slayer and her band of misfits as well as a broodsome vampire who has a knack for attracting danger; do you really think I can't handle a few defensive moves?" she asks, genuinely insulted. Faith raises her hand in surrender.

"Well, Queenie, bring it on." She says stepping back and cracking her knuckles. Cordelia stands with a happy smile.

"Glad too." She says with a smirk.

* * *

Annie sighs and looks around her small apartment, grabbing one of the taped up boxes and tearing into it quickly. It takes her a few hours and several boxes, but she finally finds an old family photo album and opens it with a happy smile. A young brunette girl with her arms around a tall man greets her first and she can't help but smile.

"Oh, Patrick," she says wistfully. "Things could have been so different." she adds, a single tear rolling down her cheek.


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, it's Sunday which means it's time for that update! I'm not going to lie, this update almost didn't make it out because I've been a little bit sickly lately but I just couldn't help myself! It's another short one, but I hope this is acceptable. Until next week, my friends!**

* * *

****The small group spend the next few days in the same routine; waking up before six and having breakfast before finally moving on to training. In that time, Cordelia had become Faith's unofficial co-instructor but she found herself comfortable with the idea. Cordelia was proving herself, showing that she was obviously a valued fighter as well as a defender and it did make teaching Amanda and Andrew a little bit easier.

"Faith!" Faith jerks in surprise, not having heard Cordelia enter the apartment. Cordelia raises an amused eyebrow at her neighbor and crosses her arms. "Welcome back to the land of the living." She says dryly. Faith snorts a little, her eyes doing a quick sweep of Cordelia before going back to her notebook. Cordelia's other eyebrow raises and a Cheshire cat grin begins to take over her face; that could be fun.

* * *

Annie looks around her apartment, grabbing the final box and sitting it on the floor before pushing it down the hall with her foot.

"Well," she says looking around again. "Home sweet home." She says with a smile. As she walks down the hall, she passes one of her pictures that seem to be crooked and takes a moment to adjust it and smile a little brighter. She hears scampering around the corner, "Hey, hey Jamie, I think this is it for us boy." She says crouching down to pick the puppy up out of the box. "Yep, I think we've found our final home." She tells the wiggling dog.

* * *

"Get some clothes on; you and I are going shopping." Cordelia leans over the table in front of Faith several hours later. Faith raises an eyebrow, trying to avoid looking at her cleavage. Cordelia just smirks and leans forward a little more.

"Say what, Cor?" Faith asks finally realizing Cordelia had spoken. The taller woman smiles and stands up straight,

"We're going shopping. You need some new clothes and a little guidance and I need to get out of the house."

"What if I'm busy?" Faith asks raising an eyebrow. Cordelia shrugs.

"Take a break." She says. Amanda turns the corner, yogurt in hand and stops in her tracks.

"You're making her leave the house? Really?" she asks. Faith tries not to feel offended.

"See? Even your charge wants you out of the house." Cordelia says smugly.

"But I-"

"You go out at night and spend your days inside brooding." Cordelia rolls her eyes. "Come on, Faith. You're almost as pale as Angel right now." She says. Faith frowns and her hand flies to her face before she jumps up to run to a mirror. Amanda chuckles,

"I'm going to Andrew's; have fun!" she says leaving before Faith can protest.

* * *

Faith frowns down at her jeans and tries again to button them. When she still can't get them, she wiggles out and checks the size again before muttering under her breath angrily.

"C'mon, Faith! I'm tired of sitting here and there are more stores than this one!" Cordelia says impatiently from outside the dressing room door. Faith swallows heavily and looks from the jeans in her hands to the door.

"Don't worry, C, I'm on my way out now." She says switching back into her other pants and walking out.

"Did you try those on?" Cordelia asks. Faith nods and shrugs nonchalantly,

"Yeah, but they don't look good on me." She lies. Cordelia rolls her eyes.

"Right, can't have that." She mutters. "Well come on, we still haven't bought anything and it's your night to cook dinner." She says walking away. Faith tosses the jeans on a rack as they leave the store and frowns to herself.

* * *

"So, Ms. Amanda, are you ready for school to start?" Andrew asks sitting across from her. Amanda shrugs, picking at her nails.

"I dunno, kinda?" she asks hesitantly. Andrew tilts his head and frowns.

"Kind of?" he asks. She shrugs again. "What's up?" he asks watching her. she doesn't answer, instead just studying her nails before taking a breath.

"What if… I don't know, I'm opening my locker and it just comes off in my hands?" she asks softly. Andrew's eyes widen a little and he clears his throat.

"Oh, uh, well." He says not really sure how to answer that question.

"Or worse, I break a desk or something." She says, her voice becoming panicked. Andrew opens his mouth to speak then squints his eyes in thought.

"Well," he starts, searching for a way to calm the increasingly panicked girl. "I…uh…" he blows out a breath as he concentrates.

"Oh god, what if I accidentally bump into someone and knock their arm off or something!" she shrieks.

"That would be bad." He says to himself. Amanda stands up and begins to pace and he decides its time for damage control.

* * *

Faith fishes into her pocket for her phone and frowns at the caller id.

"Yeah, Tinkerbell?" she answers. Cordelia stops walking and watches her for a moment, really wanting to get this sown on the road.

_"We are facing a crisis of epic prop-"_

"I don't have time for your metaphors, get to the point." Faith cut him off quickly.

_"Amanda is having a meltdown." _He says dejectedly. Faith sighs and hangs up.

"We gotta get home, the kid is losin' her wits." She says apologetically. Cordelia breathes through her nose and nods.


	18. Chapter 18

**Happy Sunday, my friends! Sorry this one is coming so late in the evening, but I kinda had a busy day! **

**AN: Yes, I did mean to end the chapter there. :) It's a short chapter, but I hope you all like it. Thank you all so much for all of your feedback and your support during this story. If you haven't already subscribed, visit my page and go follow my tumblr so you can know when I update! Or just subscribe here; whichever works for you :) **

**Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Until next Sunday folks!**

* * *

"Cordelia, how are you?" Angel asks his voice friendly. He hears rustling on the other end and finally Cordelia speaks.

"Oh, you know me," Cordelia starts, her voice light. "I'm hanging in here." She says. "Though, I'm not really helping the helpless anymore, it feels kind of weird." She says as an afterthought.

"Weird?" he asks curiously. He can imagine her thoughtful eyes flittering off to the side while she tries to figure out a way to word what she's going to say next.

"Yes." She confirms. "We've spent so much time helping those in need, I feel like I'm on vacation." She says. "Even if Faith is trying to work us into the ground." She grumbles a little. Angel can't help but chuckle.

"She just wants to make sure everyone is on equal grounds." He says. He can picture the eye roll happening; he isn't wrong.

"Well does she have to make sure of it so early in the mornings?" she almost whines. Angel laughs again; he misses Cordelia more than he thought he would.

* * *

"Kid!" Faith finally snaps after watching Amanda pace and go on for almost half an hour. It mostly amuses her, the scenarios that Amanda is coming up with but it was a little tiring.

"What?" Amanda asks her voice still high in her panic. Faith smirks a little.

"You're not gonna hurt anybody." She assures her.

"How do you _know?" _Amanda asks worriedly. Faith smiles, a soft smile this time.

"We've got what, four, five weeks before school even starts?" she asks. Amanda nods in confirmation, "I'm gonna help you hone in on those skills and teach you a few meditation techniques that'll keep you calm." She says.

"What does that have to do with me shaking the principal's hand and like, breaking his entire arm?" Amanda asks pointedly. Faith chuckles; the kid had an imagination that was for sure.

"The calmer you are the better chance you have at controlling yourself." She explains. "Take right now, for instance," she began. "If Andy were to walk up behind ya, you'd probably turn around and knock his skull into the next apartment." She says. Amanda looks horrified while Andrew winces.

"I don't… I don't see how this is helpful." Andrew mutters.

"But any other day, when you're _calm_," Faith emphasizes the word. "You're good to go." She says. Amanda looks doubtful. Faith shakes her head, "Just trust me, yeah?" she asks. Amanda doesn't hesitate.

"Okay." She says. Faith feels something in her gut pull at the blind trust the kid has in her. It feels something like pride.

* * *

"Giles." Angel answers his phone several hours later. Gunn fixes him with an amused look,

"Busy man." He says to himself as he leaves the office. Angel smiles and focuses back on what the former watcher is saying.

"We've decided we're going to rebuild the council, as you may have assumed." Giles began. "Our intentions are to run it completely different this time around; we want to help the Slayers, not control them." He says. Angel furrows his brow; what does this have to do with this phone call.

"Alright." He says slowly. Giles clears his throat.

"Right," he continues awkwardly. "Since I have no way of contacting her and I remember her taking in a Slayer on her own accord," he continues lightly. "I was wondering if you would extend an offer to Faith?" he asks. Angel sits back and frowns.

"What's the offer, Giles?" he asks his voice low.

"Well, we would like her to become one of our official watchers." He says awkwardly. Angel shakes his head even though Giles can't see it.

"I don't think she'd agree to that; you know her history with the council." He says softly.

"Quite right," Giles agrees. "I was…we all were actually, just hoping to have her alliance really."

"You can have that without making her a watcher." He argues.

"True," Giles doesn't even refute the point. "I merely wanted to extend the offer. If she continues to train Amanda, that's what she'll be essentially." He continues on. Angel scratches his cheek.

* * *

"Amanda!" Faith barks through the apartment. Amanda looks up from her bed and cringes; she felt like she was in trouble. She stands and peeks out of her door.

"Yes?" she calls hesitantly. Faith is pacing the living room.

"C'mere." She says. Amanda frowns in confusion but goes anyway.

* * *

Faith wasn't sure how she was feeling about the phone call with Angel. It seems like a good offer, but was it for her. She shakes her head when Amanda comes into the living room and points to the sofa.

"Have a seat kid, I wanna talk to ya about somethin'." She says. Amanda sits down and Faith relaxes. "Stop lookin' so afraid, you're not in any trouble." She says. Amanda blows out a breath and Faith feels something like amusement.

"Oh good." She says. Faith shakes her head and gets back to the task at hand.

"Anyway," she starts. "I just got a phone call from Fang. Had an interesting offer that affects both of us really." She says. Amanda perks up, interested.

"Well, what is it? Is he offering to take us to Disney world? Oh my god, he is, isn't he! That would be so cool!" she squeals. Faith blinks; where the hell did that come from?

"Um, no." she says quietly. Amanda deflates and pouts but Faith trucks on. "He said that Giles got in touch with him and pretty much offered me a job." Amanda pulls a face.

"What kind of job?" she asks. Faith notes a hint of bitterness but doesn't call her on it.

"A job as your official watcher." She says sitting across from her. Amanda blinks once, then twice and clears her throat.

"Aren't you…already?" she asks hesitantly. Faith nods. "So…what's the big deal?"

"I've got bad blood with the council, no hiding that." Faith says. "But it would be a good idea for you to have an actual watcher, kiddo." She reasons. Amanda frowns.

"Is there really a better watcher than someone who used to be a slayer?" she asks quietly. She notices Faith flinch when she says 'used to be' but Faith doesn't get angry. She just knew she didn't want anyone else trying to train her. Faith sucks in a breath and puffs her cheeks out, studying Amanda closely.


	19. Chapter 19

**Oh wow, another ultra short update! So sorry it's this short, next Sunday's will be longer. This one almost didn't make it out because I've had such a hectic few days but I'm getting back on track(hopefully) and will try and have the next one typed before Saturday!**

* * *

Faith sat across from Angel with Amanda and Cordelia on either side of her. Andrew was sitting outside, having been banished from the room after he knocked over something valuable from Angel's desk.

"So what do you think, Angel?" she asks him. Her decision about whether or not to become a watcher has already been made, but she would love his input. Angel leans back and rubs a finger over his top lip.

"Honestly, Faith, I think it's a great opportunity." He says slowly.

"That's what I've been saying." Cordelia mutters. Faith doesn't spare her a glance.

"I think it's a chance to do a job you'll love and to prove to yourself that you've changed." Angel continues. Faith seems to think it over.

"Don't you mean prove it to the Scoobs?" she asks. Angel shakes his head.

"No," he says seriously. "What they think of you shouldn't matter because you don't actually have to put up with them." He continues. "But you do have to live with yourself." Faith leans back; looking to her left at Amanda's hopeful face and to the right at Cordelia's bored one. Finally, she sighs.

"Call him." She says.

* * *

Annie shoves another stick of gum in her mouth and browses the internet casually. She's been doing that a lot over the past two hours, only stopping to smile down at her happy puppy in her lap. An older article excerpt with a picture beside it catches her attention and she finds herself squinting, trying to place the face. She clicks on it, waiting almost impatiently for her computer to finally load before gasping.

"It's the girl from the hospital, boy." She says to her puppy. "Ain't that somethin'?" she asks scratching the puppy behind the ears. "Wonder what she did." She says to herself.

* * *

Faith has to hide a chuckle at the child-like enthusiasm that Amanda is displaying. On their way to the mall for some new clothes, Amanda had seen a flyer about a fair and had all but demanded they go. Now, she walks behind her, smile tugging at her lips and feeling lighter than she had in a while. She'd finally made a decision regarding her life that she was proud of, even if she'd seen it as a small one. She didn't see herself regretting it anytime soon.

"Hurry up, Faith! I wanna buy you a cotton candy!" Amanda says over her shoulder. Faith shakes her head and turns to look at Cordelia when the taller woman bumps her shoulder.

"Yunno, its okay to smile about it. Fairs can be pretty exciting." She says. Faith raises an eyebrow.

"They can, eh?" she asks. Cordelia nods.

"Well, duh." She throws out. "When was the last time you were at one?" she asks offhandedly. Faith doesn't bother responding and that gives Cordelia a pause. "Faith, you have been to one, right?" Faith still doesn't answer but she does look away slightly. "Oh no, we are changing this now." Cordelia says grabbing her arm.

"Cordy, calm down. It's no big deal." She tries to shrug it off. Cordelia scoffs.

"It is a very big deal," Cordelia responds. "You have to try everything and regret it all in the morning." She says tugging her.

"Cor, I'll get fat!" Faith tries to reason. Cordelia just fixes her with a quick look as she speeds away to catch up with Amanda and Andrew with Faith's arm in her possession.

"Yes, and that's what exercise is for." She says. Faith just groans.


	20. Chapter 20

**Eep, things are still hectic kind of and I have distractions galore (I'm becoming addicted to tumblr roleplaying and I regret nothing) as well as real life issues just jumping out there at me. But, I did manage to swing this ultra short update at 3am so happy Sunday guys! Until next week!**

* * *

That evening, Cordelia laughs as she listens to Faith and Amanda babble away about their day. The way the two were talking, it made it seem like they hadn't been there together. It was a bit endearing if Cordelia was being honest.

"I believe we have both a hyper slayer and an extra hyper former slayer on our hands." Andrew muses from beside her. Cordelia is in too good a mood to ignore him.

"Think it was the cotton candy?" she asks. He nods wisely.

"And the root-beer." He says sadly. She laughs again when Amanda dives over the table and tackles Faith, the two of them wrestling and surprisingly not making too much of a mess. If every week could end this way, Cordelia thinks she could be a pretty content woman.

* * *

"Is that so?" Angel asks in amusement at three in the morning. He should be out patrolling but the genuine excitement in Faith's voice gives him a pause. "Was it your first fair?" he asks during a beat of silence. The silence stretches before Faith speaks again.

"Yeah." She says finally. He smiles in understanding.

"But you had fun?" he asks, brotherly affection in his voice.

"I had a blast, Fang." She admits openly. He smiles a little more.

"You sound surprised." He notes.

"I felt free." She responds. He hums his understanding.

"What was your favorite tent?" he asks, leaning back in his chair.

* * *

Later that morning, Amanda grumbles as she shuffles into the kitchen.

"My everything is sore." She whines. When she isn't met with a laugh and a 'man up, Squirt' she opens her eyes fully and looks around. "Faith?" she calls. She's only met with an echo. "Faith?" her voice sounds a bit more panicked. She runs to Faith's room then back to the living room, tripping over a pillow and scrambling up, almost missing the note tacked to the front door.

_Kid,_

_I got restless so I went and woke Cor up. If we're not back by noon, she probably hid my body in the desert. Do your work out and go wake Andy up if you get hungry. _

- _Faith_

Amanda feels relief ripple through her and she balls the paper up with a huff. Then a smile breaks onto her face, if she was alone, she didn't have to do her work out. It's not like Faith would know.

* * *

"Geez, Faith, didn't you work out in jail?" Cordelia asks jogging around her. Faith groans and stretches tiredly.

"I did but not like this. Not like I had a lot of runnin' room anyway." She says. Cordelia rolls her eyes.

"That's not an excuse to slack off." She chastises. She was feeling energized, much like she always did after a good workout. "You train Amanda every morning, I'm surprised I can outrun you." She says with a frown of concern. Faith waves her off.

"Guess I'm more outta practice than I thought." She mutters in embarrassment. Cordelia nods,

"Well, I'll fix that in no time!" she chirps, jogging off. "C'mon, since you woke me up at an unholy hour, you can repay me by fixing me a good breakfast!" she calls over her shoulder. Faith rolls her eyes but jogs to catch up.

* * *

"Did you do your workout, Kid?" Faith asks after her shower. Amanda stuffs a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and mutters something that sounds like a yes but Faith can't really tell. With a shrug, she nods and walks past Amanda and ruffles her hair. "Good job." She says. Amanda's eyes widen and she swallows quickly.

"I didn't actually do them I just went back to sleep and set my alarm for an hour later and then came out to clean the house!" she says in a rush. Faith pauses, raising an eyebrow and turning to face her. Finally, she speaks.

"You've been doin' good, takin' the morning off won't kill you." She says slowly. "Just don't get used to it, alright?" she says patting her own tummy idly. Amanda nods in relief; she thought Faith was going to have her ass. "Amanda, where're my Fruit Loops?" she asks slowly. Amanda gulps.

"Andrew ate them." She says quickly, looking down into her milk. Thank goodness she'd eaten those hours ago. Faith glares.

"Seriously, my name was right there on the box." She mutters, grabbing the eggs instead.


	21. Chapter 21

**It's Sunday! Again, thank you all so so much for sticking with me and this fic despite the fact that it's taking forever for me to get anywhere with it! I'll see you all next Sunday!**

* * *

**Three weeks later…. **

Faith lies in her bed and appears to be peacefully sleeping. She turns over, her arm reaching out and wrapping around the pillow close to her.

_Faith looks around the warehouse, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She pushes one of the plastic sheets back, ducking her head and looking around._

Her leg twitches, as if it wanted to lash out and kick someone or something. Her eyebrow furrows deeply then relaxed again.

_"Hello?" Faith calls out. She can feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she was met with silence. She hears footsteps run behind her and she turns quickly, her body dropping back into a familiar defensive pose. _

She twitches again, her body tensing as if ready for battle. Her fist balls up on its own accord, gripping the pillow tighter.

_Faith turns quickly, hearing movement behind her yet again. The plastic sheets shift as a wind blows through them. She scans her surroundings, ready to attack. _

_"Faith." She hears the voice and turns slowly. Her body begins to relax as she realizes there is no danger. _

_"Sup?" she asks her watcher. The woman smiles at her, crossing her arms across her chest._

_"How are you?" she asks, her voice airy. Faith shrugs and looks down. _

_"I'm okay." She says. Di nods, accepting the answer. _

_"Are you?" she asks to clarify. Faith hesitates for a moment, _

_"I'm…. yeah." She says finally. "I'm okay." A slow smile coming to her face. Di returns it._

_"Good," she says, moving to stand near a window in the warehouse. Faith follows her movement with her eyes,_

_"So why am I needing you?" Faith responds. Di chuckles. _

_"I don't know, Faith." She says over her shoulder. "You tell me." Faith chuckles, looking at the woman with a look close to contentment. _

_"I'm a watcher now." She says after a few moments. Di doesn't look surprised. _

_"Is that what you wanted?" she asks. Faith shrugs. _

_"Honestly? No." she admits openly. "I wanted my powers back." She adds. Di faces her._

_"And now?"_

_"I still want them." Faith says, not wanting there to be any misunderstanding. "But now, I feel like I can do some good if I'm training the kid." She says, a soft smile coming to her features at the thought of Amanda. Di walks over to her. _

_"So what's the problem?" she asks, her eyes knowing. _

_"What if she ends up like I did?" Faith asks after almost five minutes of silence. Di smiles gently._

_"She won't." she says. _

_"How do you know?" Faith asks frustration in her tone. Di chuckles happily._

_"Oh, that's easy," she says. She rests a hand on Faith's shoulder, "She has you there, and your little friends. She'll never feel as alone as you did." She says wisely. Faith glares and Di leans forward to kiss her forehead. "I love you, Faith." She says quietly. Faith looks at her, her eyes confused. _

_"I love you too," she says softly. Di smiles and begins to fade. "Wait, where are you going?" Faith asks frantically. Di's voice is still heard._

_"Away until you need me again." She says. _

Faith jerks awake, her body tense with extra energy. She looks over to the side, frowning when the clock glows _5 am _at her. She sighs, running a hand down her face and lays back flat on her back. Usually when she saw Di, they had long and meaningful conversations. It often lasts much longer. But last night, it was like it barely happened.

"But why?" she asks herself. She lays there for a few more minutes before getting up; Cordelia would be practically tearing down her door any minute now. By the time she gets to the living room, the first knock is already coming.

"Geez, took you long enough." Cordelia jokes. Faith smiles a little, taking in Cordelia's usual attire. Her eyes roam down Cordelia's tall body, stopping to take in a few key areas before turning away.

"What do you say we take today off, Cor?" she asks turning and going back to the kitchen. Cordelia smirks and walks behind her.

"Fine." She says, sounding exasperated. Faith pauses and Cordelia raises an amused eyebrow.

"Really?" Faith asks, her tone disbelieving. Cordelia huffs.

"Yes, seriously." She says. "You make it sound like I try to run you into the ground." She adds, sounding insulted.

"Well you did run on top of her." Amanda says, coming into the kitchen. Cordelia rolls her eyes,

"Oh my go- for the last time, I didn't realized she'd fallen!" Cordelia says in exasperation.

"Is it time for breakfast?" Andrew asks entering.

"Don't you have a home?" Faith asks, grabbing flour. Andrew shrugs and smiles.

Amanda sits at the kitchen island, a bright smile on her face. They had been doing the same thing almost every morning for two weeks or so, and she loved the routine. She feels a bump on her shoulder and looks over at Cordelia,

"Hm?"

"You look happy." Cordelia says softly. Amanda shrugs and smiles even brighter.

"I am." She admits. She felt accepted and that was a feeling she knew she wouldn't want to be without.

Di hovers just outside of Faith's kitchen window, a peaceful smile on her face.

"Be happy, Faith." She whispers, blowing a kiss and fading away slowly.


	22. Chapter 22

**It's Sunday! Again, thank you all so so much for sticking with me and this fic despite the fact that it's taking forever for me to get anywhere with it! I'll see you all next Sunday!**

**Note: I think my updates are going to start coming later in the morning rather than afternoon/evening because football season is starting and...really. **

* * *

Annie shifts through some of her old boxes, looking heatedly for a specific book. She doesn't know what compelled her to wake up at three thirty in the morning and find it, but whatever it was it was strong. She tosses another box to the side, cringing when it collides with a stack of stuff.

"I'm gonna have hell cleaning that in the morning," she says to herself. She opens another box, finally finding what she's been looking for and cheering. "Eureka!" she says out loud. Her puppy barks a little in surprise and scampers over to her. She flips through, her photo album, finally coming up to a coded section and finding the picture she's looking for. She looks at it, her breath catching and bringing another hand to her mouth.

"Oh god," she whispers. "Faith…" she trails off. The girl from the articles; that was Faith. She didn't know what to think.

* * *

"Alright, we need to get the kid some clothes, shoes, supplies," Faith ticks off, holding her notebook up as she goes over it.

"I'll handle the clothes and shoes! You and Andrew get the school supplies." Cordelia perks up. Faith frowns,

"I don't even have a list of what to ge-"

"Just wing it. Get the things you know she'll need and then we'll handle the rest when the year starts." Cordelia cuts her off.

"Can we get me enrolled first?" Amanda asks coming from her bedroom.

"Oh! Let me handle that! Can I?" Andrew asks from his spot by the television. Faith raises an eyebrow at him,

"Well, I dunno…" she trails off. His eyes widen as he silently begs; he hadn't hacked into anything in so long it was driving him crazy. "Fine." She says finally.

"Good!" he practically squeals. "I'm go-"

"Oh no, Tinkerbell, you're comin' with me before you even think of getting your geek on." Faith says firmly.

"Which means you are coming with me," Cordelia smirks at Amanda.

"Faith, I need clothes money." Amanda looks at Faith sweetly.

"Yes, we need clothes money so that she can look fabulous!" Cordelia seemed genuinely excited. Faith rolls her eyes, going back to her bedroom to grab them some money.

"This is going to be amazing!" Amanda squeals.

"I know! And since you're a slayer, you can carry all the bags!" Cordelia squeals back, turning on her heel and exiting when Faith returns with the money.

"Wait…what? No!" Amanda whines, chasing behind the older woman. Faith watches them go and looks to Andrew.

"Ready?" he nods and they exit.

* * *

"So, how are things going with your GED?" Andrew asks as they go through the store. Faith shrugs, not really having an answer.

"They actually aren't." she admits. "I kinda stopped so I could focus on really bein' the kid's watcher." She adds. Andrew smiles.

"But, isn't that something you wanted?" he asks. She nods, feeling almost comfortable talking to him about this. He was one of the only people who knew and so far, had never judged her for it.

"Yeah, it is." She says plainly. "But I really don't have much time for it right now. Maybe when Amanda's in school I can study but…." She trails off. He looks thoughtful.

"You know," he begins. "I _am_ pretty bright and my GPA in high school wasn't half bad." He says somewhat proudly. Faith raises an eyebrow.

"That's good and all." She starts. "But what's that got to do with my time problem?" she asks. He rolls his eyes in offense.

"I could help you study!" he huffs. Faith frowns.

"You mean…" she begins, grabbing a pack of pencils. "Spendin' more time with you than absolutely necessary?" she asks. He nods, not in the least bit offended by that.

"Yes! It could really help to have someone there with study skills. That way you don't end up in over your head." He reasons. She thinks it over.

"I'll think about it." she says finally.

"It's all I ask." He says airily. Faith couldn't resist a joke.

"Really? That's it? I thought all you used to ask for was for Spike to walk around naked." She tries. He grins a little.

"Well, you have a point." He says raising his eyebrows and strutting away whistling. _Maybe he isn't so bad. _She thought.

* * *

"Patrick, if you don't pick up this phone right now I'm go- Patrick! I've been calling you all morning!" Annie huffs into the phone. The voice on the other end grunts.

"Yeah? What d'ya want?" he asks gruffly.

"Where was Faith the last time you heard from her?" she asks, skipping any form of polite conversation. Patrick pauses.

"In Boston, why?" he asks. "And why are ya callin' me? Won't your new husband get angry?" he sneers. Annie rolls her eyes.

"Minor details for a minor story." She says. "I think Faith was in the hospital with me." She says quietly, as if someone was listening in.

"What? Why was she in the hospital? Why were you in the hospital? What hospital?" Patrick fires off. Annie sighs. This was going to be a long phone call.


	23. Chapter 23

**It's Sunday! Again, thank you all so so much for sticking with me and this fic despite the fact that it's taking forever for me to get anywhere with it! I'll see you all next Sunday!**

**Note: I think my updates are going to start coming later in the morning rather than afternoon/evening because football season is starting and...really.**

**Also, I'm not exactly happy with this chapter. **

* * *

Annie finally breathes in relief when she hears Patrick sigh on the other end almost two and a half hours later. She had thought right; it was a long phone call. She'd ended up recounting almost every event since they'd separated, back to him and it was emotionally taking a toll. When he told her he hadn't seen or heard from Faith since shortly after her mother died, her heart felt like it'd been breaking. She wasn't in a position to judge him; she hadn't kept up with the little girl either. And know, knowing that there was a possibility that Faith had hurt people, that she'd killed; it pained her. She was angry at Faith for allowing herself to become that person, but she was angrier at any adult Faith had in her life for not seeing what was happening. And now Faith was an adult and Annie didn't know the first place to look for her.

"Annie…listen," Patrick starts. Annie feels like she's falling back to Earth when she registers his voice. "I've made a few friends through the years; I'll call around and see what I can find out about my kid." He finishes. Annie rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me, Patrick. Did I miss all those times when we were there for her? We can't call her 'our baby' anymore." She says softly.

"You might not be able too but I'm her father." Patrick snaps.

"And I'm her mother," she retorts calmly. "And we pretty much….we abandoned her."

"I didn't abandon her; I went to prison. There's a big difference." He growls.

"Do you think she's going to see it that way?" she asks harshly. "Think about how you felt, Patrick. Your parents died when you were a teenager and you thought they'd abandoned you! We're alive, what's her first reaction going to be?" she doesn't say it to be mean. She says it to bring her back to reality.

"She knows I love her." he says, his voice shaking with anger and other emotions.

"And most children now that Santa isn't real, but that doesn't take away the magic of Christmas, now does it?" she asked back quickly. He was quiet.

"I'll call ya if I find out anything." And with that he hangs up. Annie sighs again, looking down at the puppy resting on her feet.

"What do you think, Boy? Should I let this all go and continue on like I never knew?" she asks. The puppy just stares.

* * *

Faith was trying to hold it in, she really was, but sporadic giggles continued to escape her. She glances back at Andrew, her face lighting up with a grin and dimples as she giggles yet again. His face was so red, she was sure he was going to have some kind of stroke but the entire situation amused her even if she wasn't sure why. The two had decided to go and meet up with Cordelia and Amanda. In the process of doing so, they decided to get a little personal shopping done for themselves. It'd started out innocent enough; Andrew asking Faith her opinion on several shirts and her giving them with a grumble and an eye roll. Until a sales associate saw them. That's when it all started. The man had strutted himself right over to Andrew and in all his jock-looking glory, had shamelessly been flirting with Faith small friend for the better part of fifteen minutes. It had been an offhanded comment about Andrew's lips that had tipped the little man off to the associate's real intentions and ever since, Andrew had been fire engine red.

"Feelin' okay, Andy-boy?" Faith jokes. Andrew huffs, opening his mouth to retort but instead closing it again as he fought a bashful smile.

"So do you like the blazer?" the man asks, leaning near Andrew. Andrew almost squeaks and nods shyly, looking anywhere but his new 'friend'. "Good," he smirks. When he rings them up, he winks at Andrew and leans on the counter. "Check the left pocket." He whispers and walks away. Andrew blinks and his mouth opens and closes a few times.

"Well well, aren't you a man killer?" she jokes as they exit the store. Andrew wipes his face to remove the blush.

"I- well-" he stammers. Faith thinks it's the fact that he's so off balance by it that amuses her.

"Oh come on, I bet you had all the pretty boys in Sunnydale chasin' ya." She nudges his arm with her elbow. He thinks and shakes his head.

"Well, no." he says, his face returning to its natural color. "Not many guys have actually expressed an interest in me. Between the fact that I'm not your 'All American Guy' and that I was an outcast, they usually looked over me." He admits. There's no bitterness or even sadness in his tone; just acceptance. For some reason, Faith finds herself bothered by it. She can't pin-point why, nor does she try to evaluate it.

"Well you're in the city now," she says with a grin. "Hope ya like the actor types though; plenty of those floating around here." She says with a shrug.

"I don't have much of a type." He says. "I'm pretty open."

"As long as it's not a woman?" she teases him.

"Definitely," he says dramatically. "Those are difficult creatures to deal with, even for someone as brilliant as myself." He says scurrying off when he sees Amanda. Faith smiles to herself, her eyes automatically finding Cordelia.

"Don't I know it." she says with a shake of her head.


	24. Chapter 24

**It's Sunday! Again, thank you all so so much for sticking with me and this fic despite the fact that it's taking forever for me to get anywhere with it! I'll see you all next Sunday!**

**Note: I think my updates are going to start coming later in the morning rather than afternoon/evening because football season is starting and...really.**

**Also, I'm not exactly happy with this chapter (again)**

* * *

Faith watches her three companions interact with a slight smile. Amanda and Andrew are both chattering away to Cordelia, who seems to be humoring them more than anything. She feels a bit odd and somewhat uncomfortable with them; the way they seem so happy just to be where they are. It's a little unsettling, the way they all actually seem so carefree, like they've never looked death in the face or like they won't again. If someone looked at Amanda from a distance, they'd assume she's just an average teenage girl. To someone who didn't know her, it's easy to assume that Cordelia is some kind of aspiring model. And Andrew, well he could easily pass for an everyday guy. When she thinks back she realizes he is. Yet he managed to come face to face with vampires more than once, and probably demons too. In an odd way, he reminds her of Xander, only he's completely different.

"You okay?" Faith's eyes slide over to Amanda's. She glances at Andrew with her brows furrowed before she nods with a slow smile.

"Yeah, Runt." She says with a shrug. "I'm good." She adds. She pops a tater-tot into her mouth with a grin.

"Well I'm glad to hear that, because Cordelia and I want to take you shopping." Amanda sing-songs. Faith shakes her head quickly.

"No way no how," she says. Amanda pouts.

"Aw, c'mon, it'll be fun. Just us girls." She says.

"And me." Andrew chirps.

"Bu-" Cordelia cut in.  
"We promise you'll still look like you when we're done. You'll just have better clothing choices." She says bluntly. Faith opens her mouth to retort but looks from Amanda's pleading face to Cordelia's bored one then to Andrew's distracted one and sighs.

"Fine," she says. Amanda squeals. "But I reserve my right to veto anything you three pick out."

"And we reserve the right to buy them anyway." Cordelia says with a triumphant smile. Faith can only chuckle to herself, glancing at Cordelia before quickly looking away in discomfort.

* * *

"So you're coming to the orientation, right?" Amanda asks holding a shirt up to Faith. Faith frowns in confusion.

"Orientation?" she asks. "No, I don't do neon." She says scrunching her face up at the bright green shirt Amanda grabs.

"Yeah," the teenager nods. "You know; new students and their guardians go and get a feel of the school? Learn what they'll need through the year." She says. Faith clears her throat and shrugs.

"Uh, sure." She says. She didn't remember the orientation when she started high school. She figured that she and her mother had missed it; much like they'd missed a lot of things. "When is it?" she asks. Amanda shrugs.

"I'm not sure yet," she says. "I have to wait on Andrew to get my records before we do anything." She says. Faith bites her lip lightly.

"I'm gonna have to talk to Angel about a few things too." She says.

"Like what?" Amanda asks curiously. Faith sighs, picking up a blue shirt and holding it against her. "I like it."

"Like how an ex-con is suddenly the legal guardian of a teenage girl." She says honestly. She saw no reason to try and hide it from Amanda. Her parents had hid things from her, even her watcher had, and it had always pissed her off. IF she expected to be a good watcher for Amanda, the first thing she wanted to focus on was keeping the young slayer happy.

"Oh," Amanda says. "I hadn't thought about it." she admits sheepishly. Faith smiles, ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, didn't expect ya too." She admitted. "So we're gettin' this and what else?" Faith holds up the shirt.

"These would look amazing." Cordelia breezes toward them.

"I thought you and Andy were goin' for a makeover." Cordelia hums, holding a pair of jeans against Faith.

"We were but then we remembered that you need someone with a firm hand or you'll never buy anything new." Cordelia says, not paying Faith much attention. Faith sighs and waves her hand down to get Cordelia to move the jeans. Cordelia made a face, "You're right, Andrew did you grab the other pair?" she asks. Andrew hands them over and Cordelia beams. "Go try these on." She says. Faith looks away from the bright smile.

"Fine," she grumbles. Amanda claps excitedly,

"Don't forget your shirt!" she calls.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! Sorry about not updating on Sunday, this update is almost a week late. Had a homework overload here and should be back on track next Sunday, the 9th. But if I feel I can't push out a good chapter on Sunday, updates will come slower. Not years later, but slower!**

* * *

That night, Faith sits at the table as Amanda and Andrew chatter away once again. _They spent the entire day around each other and here they go again. What could they have to talk about? _She thinks to herself. She smiles a little bit; looking back down at the spiral notebook she was writing in. she was writing down some of the things that came to her mind, mostly anything that was relevant to slaying and day-to-day life. She hadn't lived a normal life in so long; she'd almost forgotten what it was like. But considering her current predicament, she figured she wouldn't ever know the feeling of being a slayer again. The thought itself was depressing, but she couldn't let herself get down enough to where it affected Amanda.

"Are you starting a watchers diary?" Cordelia asks her leaning closer. Faith glances up, a frown on her face.

"No," she says. "What would be the point of keepin' one now? There are gonna be trained slayers and watchers all around the world; wouldn't you think that a retired slayer would become a watcher?" she asks seriously. Cordelia thinks it over.

"Kind of like you?" she asks gently. Faith thinks it over. _Wouldn't say I'm retired…_

"Pretty much." She says with a shrug. Cordelia shrugs as well, going back to the book she's reading.

"But most of them will probably be sick of dealing with demons by the time they retire." She says. Faith pulls a face, she has a point.

"Really think it'd be a good idea?" she asks. She's not even one hundred percent sure why Cordelia's opinion on the subject matters to her, but it does.

"Mhm," Cordelia confirms. "At least so you can completely protect our slayer, the other slayers aren't our problem." She waves a hand. Faith smiles a little.

"Our slayer?" she asks raising an eyebrow. Cordelia's eyes meet hers but her head doesn't lift.

"Of course," she says plainly. "The three of you would probably kill each other without me around to buffer." She pauses, "Well you may go crazy, those two seem like two peas in a pod." She muses.

* * *

Cordelia isn't sure why she's virtually volunteering herself indefinitely, but she can't seem to want to stop herself. Over the past few weeks, she found herself actually enjoying being around Faith, Amanda, and Andrew. Especially Faith and that was the real shock to her. She always figured that under all of that special brand of psycho, was an almost decent person. Even still, she had never actually liked Faith, let alone wanted to be around her voluntarily. But now, after getting to know Faith even a little, she finds herself looking forward to their morning workouts. The thought of having a conversation with Faith and not wanting to be forcibly electrocuted seemed a bit foreign to her, even now. Strangely enough, she didn't openly question it. Sure, she wondered why and what was up with it, but she didn't just come out and question it flat out. A part of her wasn't sure she wanted to think about the answer when she did.

"So much confidence in me." Faith jokes. Cordelia finds herself trying to hide a grin, looking down but not really reading the words on the page.

"Oh my god, that would be so cool! Faith, can we go?" Amanda asks suddenly. Faith and Cordelia both look at the two younger people in the room.

"Um," Faith starts and Cordelia notes that she sounds confused. "Go where?" _Good question. _She thinks.

"Rock climbing! Andrew said he saw this sho-"

"You wanna go climbing rocks because Andy-boy's been watchin' too much TV?" Faith cuts her off. Amanda pouts but nods.

"It'd be good for training! I could really work on my upper body strength and my reflexes."

"Ohh, she's using her job to do something fun. I like this girl." Cordelia jokes. She has to admit, rock climbing seems like it could be fun.

"Have you ever been rock climbing kid?" Faith asks with a sigh. Cordelia smirks; they were totally going.

"No, but how hard can it be?" she asks. Cordelia smirks a little deeper.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey folks, happy Sunday!**

* * *

"Where are we even gonna find a place that has that?" Faith asks, she knew she didn't stand a chance.

"A simple internet search should do." Andrew cuts in standing already. "This is going to be so fun!" he cheers. Faith pulls a face that's supposed to be supportive but she looks more worried than anything.

"Kid, you ever climbed a tree?" she asks. Amanda scoffs.

"Of course I have." She says.

"You guys are making it seem easier than it is." Cordelia warns them.

"Seriously, C, it can't be too bad." Faith says. Cordelia shakes her head with a sigh, _They better remember who tried to warn them…_ she thinks.

* * *

The next morning Annie shifts through a newspaper, glancing at her phone every so often. She wishes Patrick would hurry up and call her back to tell her he found out something, anything at this point. But every time she stares, it just sits there. She sighs, flipping through the pages of the L.A. Times idly.

"Oh, there's one at the community gym, you need a membership though." Andrew says. Amanda leans over his shoulder then looks at Faith hopefully. Faith looks back then turns to Cordelia for some sort of help.

"How much is a membership?" Cordelia asks. Faith sighs, looking back at Amanda.

"Doesn't say but we can always go in and ask." She suggests. Faith waves a hand,

"Not like I really have a say." She mutters.

"Of course you do, it's yes." Cordelia says helpfully. Faith just rolls her eyes.

* * *

That afternoon when the phone finally rings, Annie runs down the hall to grab it.

"Hello?" she answers on the fourth ring. The line is quiet except for some rustling,

"Yeah, I got in touch with a friend of mine, he's a lawyer." Patrick's gruff voice says. "Apparently she got caught up in some gang stuff out in California and there was some kind of accident." He wasn't telling her the whole story on purpose.

"Is she actually guilty?" she asks, afraid of the answer. Patrick pauses,

"He's not sure." He admits. "He said he's gotta dig into her case, cos some things just don't add up about it. Until then, he's keepin' an open mind and so should we." He adds. Annie sighs. "Do you want me to come out there?" he asks softly. Annie shakes her head,

"No, there's no rea-" she stops. "She's out here but I don't think she'll take to kindly to seeing you." She says. He huffs, she was right but that hurt.

"I'll be out in a week." He says disconnecting the call. Annie gets a feeling in the pit of her stomach; this was a bad idea. She should have left it alone.

* * *

Faith glances over to the side where Amanda and Andrew are discussing something then looks back at the woman before her. She's been explaining something for the past ten minutes, but Faith zoned out. She figures if it's anything important, Cordelia will tell her.

"Another family membership we offer for our alternative families is," the woman starts and Faith's attention snaps to hers.

"Alternative families?" she asks.

"Oh now you notice?" Cordelia asks impatiently. She's been trying to grab Faith's attention for the better part of five minutes but she's been too busy watching Amanda like a hawk.

"What do you mean alternative families?" Faith asks, ignoring Cordelia.

"Well, actually we'll have to list you both as sisters because we don't actually accept…uh….non-conventional couples, even with children." She says apologetically. Faith's eyes widen.

"Oh, we're not…no." she says awkwardly.

"We're just friends." Cordelia says, surprising herself when she realizes she means it. they _are _friends.

"Of course," the woman says obviously not believing them. Faith looks at Cordelia then away again, feeling uncomfortable and out of her element. She really didn't know how to explain it without making a big deal out of it.


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey folks, happy Sunday! Also, I'm aware these aren't the longest chapters in the world, but I'm not putting myself on a chapter length limit; just posting what feels right. Until next week folks!**

**also, follow my tumblr for updates on EtB : dakenzinator dot tumblr dot com**

* * *

Once they decide that the gym isn't a good fit for them, the small four make their way down the side walk. Cordelia finds herself in a position not uncommon for her lately; walking beside Faith while Andrew and Amanda walk ahead of them chattering away. She isn't really too sure why she usually ends up walking with Faith, but she doesn't mind it. They can be around each other in silence. A silence she found herself not wanting to break if she were honest. It's one of the many things that amaze her; the comfort she feels just watching the other two chatter away. When she was younger, she wanted younger siblings. Mainly for the task of bossing them around, but after watching Amanda and Andrew, she finds herself wishing she actually had someone who looked up to her.

"There's another gym not too far from here." Amanda says over her shoulder. Faith grunts her acceptance, not really paying attention. Now that Cordelia focuses on her, she notices that Faith seems especially deep in thought this time.

"Gonna break something if you keep that up." she jokes lightly, leaning over to bump Faith's shoulder lightly. Faith's eyes snap up to hers and she smiles a little.

* * *

Faith jumps a little at the small bump to her shoulder,

"I think I've felt two or three vessels pop already." She jokes back. She goes back to watching the ground then her eyes snap up to check on Amanda again. She isn't sure why, but she feels this urge to protect the younger girl. _Much good that'll do you; you couldn't even protect the kid from a vampire now. _She thinks bitterly. _You don't need too, she's a slayer._ Her mind reminds her. She lets out a light sigh before she can stop herself.

"Are you okay?" Cordelia asks. Faith nods, not meaning it.

"Course I am." She says with a shrug of her shoulder. "Just can't believe I'm lettin' the runt and Tinkerbell drag me around like this." She offers a lopsided grin. In reality, she didn't mind it much, which made her uneasy. She was almost positive she should mind.

* * *

Cordelia's lips quirk a little, not commenting on it. When they reach the gym, she follows in behind Amanda and looks around.

* * *

Faith flinches when Amanda bounces over to her excitedly,

"Faith, I can see the rock wall from here." She whispers loudly. Faith raises an eyebrow at her and shakes her head with a smile.

"Fine fine, Cor and I'll go ask someone…stuff." She says. Amanda grabs Andrew's arm and yanks him away; they had exploring to do.

* * *

Patrick Lehane checks his cell phone once more before turning it off and stuffing it down into his bag. He looks around the aisle, finally finding his seat and checking the overhead; no other bags. He puts his up and settles down beside the window, looking out before tapping his knee nervously. He hadn't seen Faith in years and was sure Annie was right; Faith probably hated him by now. Even still, he misses her and he really just hopes to have a chance to prove himself to her. He's a better guy now; better than he was when Faith was younger. He didn't 'drink anymore and he'd been taking classes to get his anger under control. He was trying to be a good guy now; he just hoped his little girl would see that.

"She's not a little girl, Pat. She's a woman now." He says softly to himself. He begins to second guess his decision, wondering if he was ready to face the possibility of his very adult daughter hating him. He shrugs finally. _I gotta try. If I don't, I'll never know. _He thinks. With a final sigh, he rests his head back and closes his eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

**How do all of you feel about bi-weekly updates? I don't want to drop to once a month status, but as many of you have probably correctly assumed, weekly is becoming unmanagable. With classes and everything, it's a bit of a rush. Would anyone object to this?**

**Also, I want to kind of wind this particular story down and turn this into a series. I'm not trying to have one story have 100 chapters, so I'm trying to find a good place to cap this at. I think I'm getting there mentally, the only thing is writing it. So with that in mind, even when this story ends (and it won't end in a way that everyone wants something tells me...) there will be a sequel in the works. Is that okay with everyone? Yes? Good! Don't forget to check my tumblr for updates and news if I have any. **

**dakenzinator dot tumblr dot com**

* * *

The small gang sits around the dinner table that evening, Amanda rattling away about something with Faith only half listening.

"I still can't believe we found a gym! Andy! We're going rock climbing soon!" she squeals, shifting the topic back to her excitement. Cordelia catches herself smiling, pushing the dinner rolls in Faith's direction. Faith nods her thanks, taking a sip of her soda.

"I know, it's gonna be amazing." Andrew agrees with a grin. He stands at the end of the table, one hand on his hips and the other holding a salad bowl. "Who wants salad?" he asks. Faith simply swallows down part of a dinner roll and decides to check back into the conversation.

"Yunno what would be more amazing? Getting the Half-Pint registered. How are those records comin' along Andy?" she asks. Andrew perks up.

"Amazingly! I should have everything no later than Saturday morning, so you can go and get everything in motion on Monday." He says. Faith nods; that was good.

"I wanna patrol." Amanda says looking at Faith. Cordelia pauses with her glass halfway to her lips; as far as she knew they hadn't discussed patrolling.

"I'm sure ya do." Faith says with a shrug.

"So, can I?" Amanda questions. Faith hesitates. "C'mon Faith! I'll be super duper careful and you can even come with me to make sure I'm not doing anything dumb!" she practically begs.

"Who's going to keep an eye on Faith?" Cordelia asks. "No offense." She cringes. Faith glares in her direction, a little stung.

"Faith can handle it! Can't you Faith?" Amanda asks, looking at Faith with pure trust. Faith feels her heart squeeze a little and sighs; she can't lie to this kid.

"I'm not sure I can." She admits softly. Amanda deflates instantly.

"Oh," she says softly. "Okay then." She says. She seems so defeated and Faith instantly feels guilty.

"I could take her." Cordelia speaks up. Amanda and Faith both face her slowly, their brows furrowed. She rolls her eyes. "What? I've patrolled with Angel plenty of times and even on the off occasion, Buffy and her band of misfits." She says, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Amanda's pleading eyes shot too Faith's.

"I-"

"They'll have walkie talkies." Andrew says. HE moves to Faith. "You remember the ones I was telling you about?" He asks Faith. She nods, one eyebrow rising as she looks at Amanda. She clinches her jaw.

"I've gotta learn sometime." Amanda tries. Faith takes a breath; she didn't like this one bit.

"One hour." She says. Amanda jumps up and hugs her before she can add any rules. "I mean it, one hour and don't take on any groups." She says firmly. Her eyes shoot over to Cordelia who nods; she understands completely. "And you have to stay in range of these walkie talkies that Andy's over here drooling about."

"I am not drooling!"

"And check in every…" At this point, Amanda doesn't care what rules she has to follow; she's finally going out to patrol.

* * *

Patrick sits back on his bed, flicking through the television channels rapidly. Annie hadn't been able to pick him up so he'd found a hotel relatively close to the airport. Now, he's sitting in his room waiting for her to call him back after leaving her a quick, but to the point voicemail. He sighs, checking his watch and settling on a random movie of the week on one of the basic channels. He wants to get in touch with his associate so that he can find Faith quicker, but he also doesn't want to move until Annie contacts him either. Faith was her daughter as much as his; they needed to be in agreement on this.

* * *

Annie looks at her phone, biting her thumb nail lightly. She doesn't actually want to call Patrick back, knowing he's going to try and talk her into finding Faith. She wants to see her daughter, heavens knows she does but she doesn't want to interfere with her life. If the scene she remembered in the hospital was anything to go by, Faith had what looked like a small little family; she didn't want to mess any of that up.

* * *

Amanda quietly walks beside Cordelia that night, twirling her steak around. She keeps dropping it, but she's determined to twirl it completely. She's on alert, but there isn't much activity so she's not wound too tightly.

"Did you volunteer because you felt guilty?" she asks. Cordelia blinks.

"Guilty about what?"

"About asking who's going to watch Faith." Amanda elaborates. Cordelia shakes her head.

"No." she says honestly. "I volunteered because I kind of miss hunting down the evil uglies." She says openly.

"But you do feel guilty?" Amanda prods. Cordelia turns to eye her. Amanda shrugs. "I dunno, I just think it was kind of a low blow, yunno? She's trying." She says defending Faith. Cordelia huffs.

"Why didn't you say any of this back at the apartment?" she asks; she did feel a little guilty.

"Because Faith would have my head on a platter if she thought I was trying to fight a battle for her."

"There is no battle." Cordelia rolls her eyes. Amanda scoffs.

"Everything is a battle with our dear Faith." She says. Cordelia doesn't respond, instead thinking over what she does know about Faith.


	29. Chapter 29

**I'm a day late, I know and...well I have no excuse except yesterday was a lazy day. See you in two weeks!  
**

**Also, I want to kind of wind this particular story down and turn this into a series. I'm not trying to have one story have 100 chapters, so I'm trying to find a good place to cap this at. I think I'm getting there mentally, the only thing is writing it. So with that in mind, even when this story ends (and it won't end in a way that everyone wants something tells me...) there will be a sequel in the works. Is that okay with everyone? Yes? Good! Don't forget to check my tumblr for updates and news if I have any. **

**dakenzinator dot tumblr dot com**

* * *

When Cordelia and Amanda return home, Faith actually tries to hide her worry. She looks up from the book she's reading and doesn't react initially.

"How was patrol?" she asks. Amanda bounces quickly and bounds over to Faith.

"It was so fun! I dusted four vamps and Cordelia completely kicked another one's ass!" she says excitedly. Faith's eyebrow hikes up in surprise and Amanda blushes. "I mean kicked its butt. It didn't stand a chance. She was all like-" Faith looks over at Cordelia, a small hint of appreciation and respect on her face. Cordelia understands completely and just nods with a half smile. She's not sure why, but she feels relieved when Faith returns it. "I'm so hungry right now! Can we order a pizza or something?" Amanda asks resting her head on Faith's shoulder. Faith smiles and nods,

"Sure kid, we can order a pizza." She says. "Go shower and I'll order." She offers. Amanda nods standing and stretching.

"Thanks for letting me go, it was so much fun. I can't wait until you can go with me." Faith feels something in her heart that she can't begin to describe.

* * *

The next morning, Patrick checks his cell phone once more hoping Annie had called him. When he sees nothing, he sighs and tosses it onto a chair in his hotel room. He stands to pace; he wanted to give her time and space. He hasn't seen her in years and honestly, he felt a little nervous about seeing her again. When the phone in his room rings, he glances at it for a second before picking up.

"Yeah?" he says gruffly.

* * *

Annie's breathe hitches a little when Patrick answers the phone. He's actually in Los Angeles and she's not sure how she feels about it. On one end, she's excited. He'll definitely help her find Faith and try to reestablish a relationship. But on the other end, she doesn't want Faith to resent either of them.

"So you made it?" she asks lightly.

"Oh, you remember how to return a guy's calls now? I was gettin' worried you forgot how to work a phone." He fires back. Her eyes roll on their own accord.

"Patrick, I don't have time to deal with your attitude." She snaps. "Can we meet somewhere? So we can talk about what we're going to do?" she asks. She hears him let out a breath.

"Yeah, sure. Here's the address of the hotel I'm at,"

* * *

That Friday morning, Amanda looks up at the school then over at Faith, worry clear on her face.

"How did Andrew get everything so quickly? I thought it would take longer." She asks moving closer to Faith. Faith looks up at the school and clucks her tongue.

"Yunno, I didn't really ask him how he managed to get everything so quickly, but we should be happy he did." She says nudging Amanda. "C'mon kid, whatcha worried about?" she asks. Amanda looks down at her hands.

"Fitting in." Amanda says quietly. Faith feels her eyebrow twitch as a familiar feeling settles in her stomach.

"C'mon kiddo, you're Amanda Young. You're awesome, you don't have anything to worry about." She says nudging her shoulder. She offers a convincing smile when Amanda meets her eyes.

"You really think so?" she asks. Faith nods.

"Course I do." She tosses an arm around her shoulder and leads her inside. "And if any boys try and date you, I'll rip their arms off." She offers as the two make their way inside. Amanda can't stop her giggle.

* * *

"Yes, we're fine here." Cordelia huffs, walking around her apartment with her phone attached to her ear. She checks her watch again, and then looks up at the clock as if she were expecting the times to be different.

_"Are you sure, Cordy? Do you need anything?" _She rolls her eyes.

"I'm sure Angel. I don't need anything." She responds. She can't help but smile a little, "But thank you for worrying so much, I was a little worried my absence would make you stop caring." She jokes; kind of. Angel is quiet on his end for a moment.

_"I'll always care about you." _He says honestly. _"Don't ever doubt that." _He adds. Cordelia feels her heart warm at his words.

"I know, I was just joking." She says lightly. She hears him hum on his end in acknowledgement. The two just relish the comfortable silence for a moment before he speaks again,

_"Are you and Faith really getting along?" _He asks incredulously. She rolls her eyes again; it was the third time he'd asked.


End file.
